On Aug. 22, 2023, Revolution Wind was approved by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM. The Biden-Harris administration hailed the approval of the fourth major wind turbine project. According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, the project will be located about 15 nautical miles southeast of Point Judith, Rhode Island, and have an estimated capacity of 704 megawatts of clean energy, which can power nearly 250,000 homes. A group of concerned citizens, pointing out that they will not release the biological opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is up in arms. See: green-oceans.org
Revolution Wind is one of nine developments slated for the area off the coast of Rhode Island and Massachusetts that will install over 1,000 turbines, each 873-1,100 feet high, over 1,400 square miles of ocean. The four closest projects to Rhode Island, Revolution Wind 1 and 2, South Fork Wind and Sunrise Wind, will severely damage Coxs Ledge, one of the most fertile marine ecosystems in New England. Coxes Ledge is a terminal glacial moraine, a complex geological formation that supports a diversity of marine species equivalent to a coral reef. Teeming with life, it hosts the endangered North Atlantic right whale during the winter months and is the only remaining spawning ground for the Atlantic cod. The construction of hundreds of turbines with miles of interarray cables will demolish this ecosystem. The developers chose Coxes Ledge for financial reasons; constructing turbines in shallow waters costs less.
If offshore wind projects could actually mitigate climate change, one might reluctantly accept the destruction of this unique ecosystem. However, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the agency tasked with permitting these projects, acknowledges in their environmental impact statement that they will have “no measurable influence on climate change.” These projects will still require 100% capacity of backup electricity generation with natural gas power plants. Rarely discussed, the European experience demonstrates that offshore wind does not reduce reliance on fossil fuels, nor does it diminish carbon dioxide emissions. Instead, the intermittency of the wind causes traditional generators to operate inefficiently, producing less electricity with greater emissions.
According to the citizens group Green Oceans, the offshore wind developer of the projects on Coxes Ledge, Orsted, has misled people about the impact. The company maintains two sets of visual simulations. The viewer cannot discern turbines in the publicly available version; yet, in the confidential version, one can. Moreover, the developers will not release 25 out of 51 technical reports to the public, including the emergency response plans, the air emissions calculations and even the economic benefits to Rhode Island. Why hide the economic benefits in a confidential, Freedom of Information Act-exempt appendix?
It’s a David-against-Goliath fight. Listen to the administration and they’ll say we’re helping Rhode Island meet its renewable energy mandate and that it’s building a clean-energy future. Listen to the community leaders and you’ll hear passionate opposition to the status quo, determination to fight the well-financed opposition and a desperate effort to save the ocean.
Who do you believe?
How can you afford not to take a second look? Check out green-oceans.org/white-paper-1.
