ACOP News

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NEWARK, DE ( August 13, 2024) -- A Recent Delay in Pre-construction Decommissioning Bond Raises Concerns.  US Wind will likely petition the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to delay buying a pre-construction decommissioning bond, which will likely be approved. These bonds ensure that expensive decommissioning costs are covered if a developer goes bankrupt. Developers often create separate Limited Liability Companies to protect parent companies in case of bankruptcy. The Italian company Renexia established US Wind as such a company.

NEWARK, DE ( July 29, 2024) -- A closer look into the Vineyard Wind incident and its complications for future projects. Construction of the nation's first major offshore wind project, Vineyard Wind 1, located 14 miles off the coast of Nantucket, MA, has been halted. A General Electric Halide-X (12-megawatt), with a 351-foot-long fiberglass blade, collapsed during its commissioning test on July 13, 2024. At the time of the incident, the Nantucket Current reported that ten turbines were operational out of the 62 planned. Nantucket South beaches were closed because of possible injuries from sharp debris.

NEWARK, DE ( July 25, 2024) -- New Evidence Reveals How Construction Noise and Seismic Testing Are Leading to Whale Deaths. We have patiently waited for indisputable evidence that offshore wind is killing whales despite federal agencies repeatedly stating that no such evidence exists. It does now. Recent real-time acoustic tests of project construction noise and seismic testing reveal noise levels far exceeding those that result in whale mortality.

NEWARK, DE ( July 11, 2024) -- Ignoring cost caps and competitive bidding, this law burdens homeowners with higher costs while neglecting affordable alternatives. Delaware governor's signing of the offshore wind procurement bill is irresponsible. One of his first acts as Governor was to form an Offshore Wind Working Group. Twenty-four people met for a year and made two unanimous recommendations.

NEWARK, DE ( May 14, 2024) -- Two years ago, the legislature raised the goal to 40% by 2035. The cost cap was in the way, so it was replaced with a price cap on RECs. If the market price for Renewable Energy Credits (REC) exceeds $25, Delmarva Power can simply pay $25 for each equivalent Alternative Compliance Payment (ACP) to the state. That means we wouldn't be buying renewable power. Over the last three years, the average price of RECs has been $21, which is close to the price cap.

(CT News Junke by Brian Scott-Smith, originally published on April 10, 2024) -- NEW LONDON, CT – As Danish Energy developer Ørsted is preparing to start work on its Revolution Wind offshore energy farm, a lawsuit may create problems before construction can get underway for the 65-turbine project that is expected to power homes in Connecticut and Rhode Island.

NEWARK, DE ( December 29, 2023) -- Delaware's Governor has now opened the door to the development of giant industrial offshore wind turbines just 10 miles off Delaware's coast.

NEWARK, DE ( October 24, 2023) -- The federal government is closing in on approving the large US Wind offshore wind project just 10 miles off the Delaware and Maryland coast as early as the first quarter of 2024.

NEWARK, DE (September 8, 2023) -- Offshore wind developer Ørsted has delayed its New Jersey Ocean Wind 1 project to 2026.

NEWARK, DE (May 2, 2023) -- In a recent announcement, NJ League of Conservation Voters' Executive Director, Ed Potosnak accused the Caesar Rodney Institute of running a "misinformation campaign" against offshore wind.

NEWARK, DE (April 6, 2023) -- When free market policy arguments are winning, progressives need to tag someone for a "cancel culture" effort. Currently, on the issue of offshore wind, "it's me," Dave Stevenson. The "meme" is that I am the oil industry's evil tool trying to kill the President's dream of planet-saving offshore wind turbines. This is simply false and not true.

NEWARK, DE (March 15, 2023) -- When free market policy arguments are winning, progressives need to tag someone for a "cancel culture" effort. Currently, on the issue of offshore wind, "it's me," Dave Stevenson. The "meme" is that I am the oil industry's evil tool trying to kill the President's dream of planet-saving offshore wind turbines. This is simply false and not true.

NEWARK, DE ( March 14, 2023) -- Offshore Wind Developers work to temper opposition by creating an impression their projects are done deals. Certain states and the federal government under President Biden pump out project prices and permit approvals at a rapid pace. However, turbine manufacturers are losing money and raising prices, multiple lawsuits plague approvals as federal permitting agencies act like offshore wind advocates and enablers instead of environmental protectors, and it looks like approved state price guarantees are too low to entice project financiers.

SHIP BOTTOM, NJ ( February 23, 2023) -- Save LBI calls on President Biden to order a Mid-Course Change to the Offshore Wind Energy Program to preserve the migration of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. In a 20-page letter to President Biden dated February 15, 2023, a detailed, quantitative case study for the project proposed off Long Beach Island (LBI) concludes that turbine operation there poses an insurmountable problem for the right whale’s migration. Key findings include...

NEWARK, DE ( February 15, 2023) -- A coalition of public interest groups - The Heartland Institute, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), and the American Coalition for Ocean Protection (ACOP) - have filed comments with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), calling the Draft Environmental Impact Statement which BOEM has prepared for the Virginia Offshore Wind Project "woefully inadequate, fatally flawed, and absurdly indifferent" to the destruction of the North Atlantic right whale as a species.

NEWARK, DE ( September 28, 2022) -- The American Coalition for Ocean Protection (ACOP) has partnered with the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow and the Heartland Institute to retain legal representation in preparing public comments regarding the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project. The project has been proposed by Virginia public utility Dominion Energy and requires approval from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). BOEM is expected to publish a draft "Environmental Impact Statement" (EIS) by year-end.

NEWARK, DE ( August 31, 2022) -- The Caesar Rodney Institute (CRI), with its Energy Expert David T. Stevenson, has spearheaded the fight against offshore wind turbines since 2017 to protect Delaware Beaches. Today, CRI announces the release of a shocking video that depicts and uncovers the truth behind how the wind turbines will look off Delaware beaches after construction, who will benefit (not Delawareans), and the marine life it will forever harm....READ MORE

NEWARK, DE ( June 23, 2022) -- Offshore wind supporters like to quote a Wood Mackenzie research study that says buildIn 2018, Governor Carney convened an Offshore Wind Working Group composed of very capable people from across a spectrum of energy perspectives.  They were tasked to consider whether the state government should mandate the use of offshore wind.  The conclusion was offshore wind was too expensive but left the door open to future consideration compared to other generation sources. 

NEWARK, DE ( May 13, 2022) -- Offshore wind supporters like to quote a Wood Mackenzie research study that says building 29,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind electric generating capacity on the Atlantic seaboard by 2030 will create 80,000 annual full-time US jobs between 2025 and 2030.  

NEWARK, DE ( April 12, 2022) -- A recently-released research paper from the University of Delaware (UD) reports that the cost of power from a proposed 800-megawatt offshore wind project would fall within current wholesale power prices.

NEWARK, DE ( October 8, 2021) -- Proposed legislation nationally and in some states would establish a requirement 100% of electricity be generated from "renewable" sources such as wind and solar power. This policy will lead to unacceptable electric price increases and blackouts.