NOAA Fisheries requests public comments on the proposed incidental take regulations related to the Empire Wind Project. The project would be located offshore of New York and is within the New York Wind Energy Area. This regulatory action is part of NOAA’s ongoing work to ensure the nation’s deployment of offshore wind energy is done in a manner that avoids and minimizes impacts to protected resources, habitats, and managed fisheries. The deadline for comments is May 15, 2023.
Read the rule and comment here.
NOAA Fisheries has received the request from Empire Offshore Wind, LLC (Empire Wind), a 50/50 joint venture between Equinor and BP p.l.c., for Incidental Take Regulations and an associated Letter of Authorization. The requested regulations would govern the authorization of take, by Level A harassment and/or Level B harassment, of small numbers of marine mammals over the course of 5 years (2024-2029) incidental to construction of the Empire Wind Project offshore New York in a designated lease area on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS-A-512). Project activities likely to result in incidental take include impact pile driving, vibratory pile driving and removal, and site assessment surveys using high-resolution geophysical (HRG) equipment. NOAA Fisheries requests comments on its proposed rule. NOAA Fisheries will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the promulgation of the requested incidental take authorization and issuance of the Letter of Authorization. Agency responses to public comments will be summarized in the final notice of our decision. The proposed regulations, if issued, would be effective January 22, 2024 through January 21, 2029.
Paul Plante says
As an engineer licensed in NY to “safeguard” life, health and property, indeed an out-dated concept today where PE’s in NY advertise with red lights, I am surprised how much vital information on these wind farms is either obscured or is downright disregarded, and here I am talking about the impact of what are known, probably to high school or grade school children today, as wingtip vortices caused by the whirling of these giant blades through the air, which according to “FOLLOW THE SCIENCE,” definitely impact on the local atmospheric conditions through their wakes, characterized by reduced wind speed and increased turbulence, with data from a meteorological field campaign showing that such wind farms can significantly affect near-surface air temperatures resulting from enhanced vertical mixing due to turbulence generated by wind turbine rotors, which brings the much warmer air aloft to the bottom layer, leading to local warming effects, which in turn will impact on surface water temperature.
But more on that later.
From a practical standpoint (isn’t that why we have engineers in the first place?), the question raised is just how are these massive structures out over water to be built in the first place?
Which brings us to what I am calling BIDEN BOATS, and that takes us to an article in Science titled “The US offshore wind boom will depend on these ships – The race is on to build them” by Justine Calma on Feb 23, 2021, where we have as follows:
New offshore wind developments are poised to help the US usher in a new era in energy — but first, they need ships.
More specifically, they need massive specialized vessels capable of erecting a skyscraper-sized turbine in the open ocean.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, these are hard to come by.
Wind turbine installation vessels are already in short supply globally.
And in the US, policies aimed at protecting domestic shipbuilding make it even harder for wind farm developers to get their hands on those vessels.
Unless the US figures out how to bridge that gap, it could be choppy waters ahead for the country’s offshore wind dreams.
In the US, President Joe Biden has set a goal of “doubling” offshore wind this decade, part of a broader effort to power the country’s electricity sector with purely clean energy by 2035.
In order to meet those goals, the US will need to build up a lot more aquatic infrastructure off its shores.
There are already plans for at least 16 wind projects off the East Coast of the US — they’re just awaiting permits — and they’ll need the services of these very specialized ships.
“It’s pretty insane.”
“It’s a pretty limited market,” says Claire Richer, director of federal affairs at American Clean Power Association (ACP), a group that represents the renewable energy industry in the US.
If all of a sudden, all of the prospective US wind farm projects began construction at the same time, “then we have a problem,” she says.
All of the offshore wind projects being developed around the world are vying for time with these vessels at a rate of up to $180,000 a day.
end quotes
Yes, indeed, Joe Biden’s INSANE GREEN DREAM in technicolor withy surround sound to boot.
And if these giant windmills do in fact affect the weather, which impacts climate, how “clean” are they in actuality?
The one thing we do know is that sleepy, goofy Joe Biden and all of his “woke” administration DO NOT have a clue!
J Wheaton says
How about you state formerly licensed Engineer? I honestly doubt you are still licensed.
Note: This is a NOAA press release. If you actually read this thing, you would be commenting to them, not here.
Paul Plante, NYSPE says
Your doubts about whether I really am an engineer, J Wheaton, and $15.72 plus generous gratutity for the barristas, will buy you coffee at Starbucks.
And my goodness, but aren’t you the testy one this morning.
One can well imagine you absolutely puce with rage and drumming your heels on the floor a la Hillary Clinton in one of her many rages as you were hammering out that bit of vituperation on your computer keyboard.
Paul Plante, NYSPE says
Has anyone ever wondered exactly what the acronym NOAA actually stands for?
It is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, where the word “atmospheric” would be thought to mean “relating to the atmosphere of the earth, as in “atmospheric conditions such as fog, snow, rain,” although with this WOKE Biden crowd, it could well mean “creating a distinctive mood, typically of romance, mystery, or nostalgia,” which might explain why in the case of this wind farm, NOAA does not seem to be concerned at all about the atmospheric impacts of this or any other wind farms out at sea.
According to their propaganda page under “What does the NOAA do?,” they answer their own question, as follows:
“From daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings, and climate monitoring to fisheries management, coastal restoration and supporting marine commerce, NOAA’s products and services support economic vitality and affect more than one-third of America’s gross domestic product.”
So if they are engaged in climate monitoring, one who was sane and rational and capable of critical thinking, as opposed to hysterical and unthinking, would think they would be vitally interested in the cumulative effect of all these vortices associated with these wind farms, which DO NOT give reliable power.
According to the MIT site, NOAA is a federal agency focused on the condition of the oceans and the atmosphere.
So why aren’t they looking at the impacts of these vortices?
Speaking as an engineer, perhaps an answer can be found in the following:
Mitigation of Wind Turbine/Vortex Interaction Using Disturbance Accommodating Control
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Hand, M. M.
2003-12-01
Wind turbines, a competitive source of emission-free electricity, are being designed with diameters and hub heights approaching 100 m, to further reduce the cost of the energy they produce.
At this height above the ground, the wind turbine is exposed to atmospheric phenomena such as low-level jets, gravity waves, and Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, which ARE NOT currently modeled in wind turbine design codes.
These atmospheric phenomena can generate coherent turbulence that causes high cyclic loads on wind turbine blades.
end quotes
They simply don’t make models which include those factors, which in turn allows them to reach any conclusion the political powers that be, in this case, the Biden regime which is pushing these wind farms, want reached.
It is that simple.
Paul Plante, NYSPE says
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE – NOAA
Wind Farm Interference Shows Up on Doppler Radar
Weather.gov > Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI > Wind Farm Interference Shows Up on Doppler Radar
During late 2008 and early 2009, an energy wind farm consisting of 36 turbines began operation in east central Dodge county on Butler Ridge in Herman township.
This is about 2 miles east of Iron Ridge, just north of Rubicon and just south of Mayville and Theresa.
Butler Ridge has an elevation of 1170 feet above mean sea level, which is about 300 feet above the elevation of the town of Hustisford, located just to the west.
The Butler Ridge wind farm is about 30 miles directly north of the Weather Surveillance Doppler Radar located at the National Weather Service office near Sullivan (KMKX) in far eastern Jefferson county.
Unfortunately, the Butler Ridge wind farm and its turbines are within the radar line of sight (RLOS) of the NWS doppler radar in eastern Jefferson county.
The height of the wind turbine towers are about 260 feet above the ground, and the turbine blades are about 300 feet in diameter.
Hence the top of the wind turbine rotors are about 400 feet above the ground on Butler Ridge.
At this height, the rotating turbine blades of the wind farm impact the KMKX Doppler Radar beam.
As you can see in the above image depicting most of southeast Wisconsin, the rotating wind turbines are having an affect on the radar beam.
A small part of the electromagnetic energy radar beam sent from the radar is reflected back by the rotating turbines.
The radar processes this “returned energy” as an area of precipitation and plots it accordingly on the map.
This contamination of the base reflectivity image as illustrated in the below image, has an effect on the radar algorithms used to estimate rainfall and to detect certain storm characteristics.
The rotating turbines also impact the velocity base data as you can see from the below image.
This velocity data is used by radar operators and by a variety of algorithms in the radar’s data processors to detect certain storm characteristics such as mesocyclones, tornado vortex signatures, and relative storm motion.
The KMKX doppler radar has a sophisticated clutter/interference removal scheme, however the scheme was designed to filter out spurious returned (reflected) energy that has little or no motion.
This is effective for removing the returned signals from terrain, buildings, and other non-moving structures.
Unfortunately, the radar sees the rotating wind turbine blades as targets having reflectivity and motion, hence processes these returns as weather.
The below two hour animation from the evening of April 1, between 915 pm and 11 pm CDT shows the persistent interference from the Butler Ridge wind turbine farm on the KMKX base reflectivity radar image.
Wind turbine clutter or interference that shows up on the base reflectivity and velocity images produced by the doppler radar can have several impacts including:
* Thunderstorm or winter storm characteristics could be masked or misinterpreted, reducing warning effectiveness in the vicinity of, and downrange of the wind farm.
* False signatures contaminating Doppler velocity data in the vicinity and downrange of the wind energy facility could reduce forecaster’s situational awarness, particularly during hazardous/severe weather events.
* Data masking or contamination if thunderstorms develop over the wind farm may negatively impact warning effectiveness.
* False precipitation estimates could negatively impact flash-flood warning effectiveness.
The best mitigation technique is to avoid locating wind turbines in the radar line of sight (RLOS) of the doppler radar.
The National Weather Service is conducting an outreach program to ensure the wind energy industry and developers are aware of NWS Doppler Radar locations and the potential impacts on radar data.
The NWS Radar Operations Center (ROC) works with these developers and suggests mitigation options to consider.
The NWS continues to learn about wind farm impacts on radars, weather forecast office operations, and other users where radars and wind farms are already in close proximity.
Based on this information, the NWS will develop training materials for radar operators and weather forecasters on how to identify, mitigate, and partially work around wind turbine impacts during forecast and warning operations.
For much more information on how wind turbines impact doppler weather radar, check out the ROC website.
Marc Kavinsky
Senior Meteorologist
J Wheaton says
I don’t know Paul, passing yourself off as a licensed Engineer when you’re not sounds like someone could get in trouble. Just saying.
While we are on the subject of wind turbines they aren’t new. The US produces about 130 GWeas Europe is producing 236 GW .
Also to be clear the turbines are affecting the radar, not the weather. It’s a simple matter of adjusting whatever algorithm they use to reduce noise on the radar return. interesting you reference an article from 2009, 14 years ago,
Try this article on for size https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2019/04/f61/WTRM_Factsheet_Final_2019.pdf
While we are on the subject of wind turbines they aren’t new. The US produces about 130 GWeas Europe is producing 236 GW
Paul Plante, NYSPE says
Please pardon our dear friend J Wheaton here, people, he has been confused for some long time now, but he has proven harmless over the years, and for many of us in our otherwise mundane and boring lives, has been a source of amusement that we would otherwise have to go without to our detriment:
WINDFARMS DO AFFECT THE WEATHER AND YES, I AM LICENSED TO PRACTICE AS A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER IN CORRUPT NYS:
From Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS),
“Impacts of wind farms on surface air temperatures”
Somnath Baidya Roy sbroy@atmos.uiuc.edu and Justin J. Traiteur
Edited by Stephen H. Schneider, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, and approved August 13, 2010 (received for review January 15, 2010)
October 4, 2010
107 (42) 17899-17904
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1000493107
Abstract
Utility-scale large wind farms are rapidly growing in size and numbers all over the world.
Data from a meteorological field campaign show that such wind farms can significantly affect near-surface air temperatures.
These effects result from enhanced vertical mixing due to turbulence generated by wind turbine rotors.
******************
From the USEPA
Climate Change Indicators: Weather and Climate
Weather and Climate
Weather is the state of the atmosphere at any given time and place.
Most of the weather that affects people, agriculture, and ecosystems takes place in the lower layer of the atmosphere.
Familiar aspects of weather include TEMPERATURE, precipitation, clouds, and wind that people experience throughout the course of a day.
Climate is the long-term average of the weather in a given place.
While the weather can change in minutes or hours, a change in climate is something that develops over longer periods of decades to centuries.
Climate is defined not only by average temperature and precipitation but also by the type, frequency, duration, and intensity of weather events such as heat waves, cold spells, storms, floods, and droughts.
The concepts of climate and weather are often confused, so it may be helpful to think about the difference between weather and climate with an analogy: weather influences what clothes you wear on a given day, while the climate where you live influences the entire wardrobe you buy.
J Wheaton says
Paul, you’re speaking about “Climate change” but you said that’s not real. To accept the premise of this Abstract you have to admit that the climate can be changed by man. So, let’s not stop at wind turbines – how about fossil fuels? They must be contributing to climate change. This article implies the effect of wind turbines can be mitigated by placement and blade design. What about fossil fuel Paul?
Oh, does June 30th, 2007 ring a bell?
Paul Plante, NYSPE says
J Wheaton, in ALL sincerity, EVERYONE, not only here is what’s left of America, and the world, since this is a global issue, but in the galaxie and universe, as well, given the sheer magnitude of this issue, are so thankful when you come in here to give me more grist for the mill, so to speak, or fuel for the fire, as you did once again right above here, where you speciously and erroneously state that I have said that climate change is not real.
OF COURSE CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL!
(For relevant and pertinent background, see Cape Charles Mirror, Feb. 19, 2023; Op-Ed: Biden’s Climate Crisis Balderdash and Malarkey;
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/op-ed-bidens-climate-crisis-balderdash-and-malarkey/ )
What kind of moronic idiot would think otherwise?
It has never not been changing, that’s what “CLIMATE, HISTORY AND THE MODERN WORLD” by H.H. Lamb is all about, although people who spend their time indoors in climate-controlled settings, or sit in the climate-controlled cockpit of their Tesla are totally clueless about that, and so, are easy meat for this CLIMATE GRIFT Joe Biden and his pack of morons, including John “Jack” Kerry and Janet “TOODLES” Yellen are peddling as they troll for graft and kickbacks, the grease the keeps politics running.
What I have said on the subject, and I am quoting myself here, is as follows:
Yes, people, in addition to the literal multitude of other lies and falsehoods Joe Biden down in Washington is peddling, and here I am referring to a Rigzone article titled “Despite Economic Hurdles the US Says Climate Crisis Is Opportunity” by Bloomberg & Jennifer A Dlouhy on February 13, 2023, wherein Lizzie Klein, an environmental lawyer and clean energy champion who is a veteran of the Interior Department, having previously worked in the agency under former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and was just appointed director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management by Joe Biden, hysterically and might I also say mindlessly screeches at us, thusly, to wit:
“The president has been clear that we are in a climate crisis,”
Which is a ridiculous and very stupid statement for Joe Biden to make, although totally in character for him, and even more stupid of her to be repeating it out loud in America, where unlike Joe Biden and the lickspittles, lackeys and sycophants that comprise the bulk of his administration, we are not stupid, because it is meaningless drivel to talk about a “climate crisis” because as any second grader these days knows inside and out, it is that simple and basic, a “climate crisis” is IMPOSSIBLE precisely because there is no “climate” that can be having a crisis, where “crisis” means “a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger, as in “the current economic crisis caused by Joe Biden’s misguided economic policies.”
So what is “climate” then, if we can’t have one?
The answer to why we can’t have one, is because in the United States of America, we have a multitude of climates, which is precisely why the National Weather Service has an informational website for children that admittedly is above Joe Biden’s level of comprehension and is titled “Climate Zones,” where the schoolchildren are informed, as follows, to wit:
The earth’s tilt, rotation and land/sea distribution affect the global weather patterns we observe.
While the weather varies from day-to-day at any particular location, over the years, the same type of weather will reoccur.
The reoccurring “average weather” found in any particular place is called climate.
end quotes
And from “Op-Ed: The Insanity of the Inflation Reduction Act,” Cape Charles Mirror, March 5, 2023 ( http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/op-ed-the-insanity-of-the-inflation-reduction-act/#respond ) we have the answer to the question raised by J Wheaton above about “you have to admit that the climate can be changed by man,” which is exactly what I stated in the Cape Charles Mirror on March 13, 2023 @ 9:37 AM, to wit:
So, having determined that a CLIMATE DENIER is a person who rejects the proposition that climate change caused by human activity is occurring; or a person who does not accept that climate change is happening, or does not accept that it is caused by human activity such as burning fossil fuels; or one who denies that changes in the Earth’s climate or weather patterns are caused by human activity, we now have another new term confronting us, and that is NET ZERO.
And what pray tell, is NET ZERO?
According to the dictionary, it is as follows: a target of completely negating the amount of greenhouse gases produced by human activity, to be achieved by reducing emissions and implementing methods of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as in “global net emissions of carbon dioxide will need to fall to net zero by 2050.”
And why should we be concerned about this term?
Well, for one, it is an impossible goal to achieve, because to completely negate the amount of greenhouse gases produced by human activity, which includes exhaling, it takes even more energy intensive human activities to reduce emissions and implement methods of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and those more energy intensive human activities to remove CO2 from the air will themselves contribute to and cause further climate change.
end quotes
And back to J Wheaton we go!
Paul Plante, NYSPE says
J Wheaton, I really am an engineer, and as such I know well what the word “mitigate” means, which is to “make less severe, serious, or painful.”
For instance, the rear wheel tuck of the swing axles on the pre-1975 Corvair, the one called “unsafe at any speed” by Ralph Nader, himself a lawyer, could have been easily mitigated by the addition of a sway bar, BUT the bean counters who are in charge of how money is spent overruled the engineers, and the result was history for GM and a big black eye.
Given enough money, pretty much anything can be mitigated.
But there is never enough money, so costs are cut and the mitigations not done.
If you had read that article and others on the subject, you would have come across the words, “mitigations will make these projects more expensive.”
Which means to me, don’t expect them to happen.
And the mitigations are proposed – there is no certainty that they would actually work, and if you search around, you won’t find any in actual practice today.
And no, J Wheaton, June 30th, 2007 rings no bells for me.
Should it?
Paul Plante, NYSPE says
And as to adverse impacts to whales from these BIDEN WIND FARMS as a big part of Joe Biden’s INSANE GREEN DREAM, and who can be surprised at this, other than NOAA, the wind farm industry, their highly paid SHILLS, and Joe Biden, we have as follows on that subject, not from America, of course, but from Thanjavur, India, to wit:
International Journal of Engineering Research and Technology
2018 (Vol. 6 – Issue 14)
Mitigation of Underwater Vibration Due to Offshore Wind Turbines
DOI : 10.17577/IJERTCONV6IS14091
Authors : S. Sowmiya
Paper ID : IJERTCONV6IS14091
Volume & Issue : Confcall – 2018 (Volume 06 – Issue 14)
Published (First Online): 05-01-2019
ISSN (Online) : 2278-0181
Publisher Name : IJERT
Department of electrical and electronics engineering Parisutham Institute of Technology and science Thanjavur
ABSTRACT:
In this modern world, the demand of electricity is drastically increased.
Therefore, we are in the need of abundant electricity.
At the same time, we need concern about the environmental impacts due to conventional energy resources.
Thus the technique of power generation from renewable energy resources evolved.
Power is generated from wind energy because no co2 emission is involved in this process.
In order to increase the efficiency of wind power generation, it is moved towards the seashore.
Thus the offshore wind turbines are evolved.
But major impact of offshore wind farm is underwater noises and vibration.
Because of this vibrations, marine ecosystem is disturbed.
Especially marine mammals are affected.
These animals are driven away from feeding or breeding grounds, loss of communication among the animals, deflect from migration route.
Paul Plante, NYSPE says
Fox News
“Biden admin scientist raised alarm on offshore wind harming whales months ago – Top Biden administration scientist warned: ‘The development of offshore wind poses risks to these species'”
By Thomas Catenacci | Fox News
Published February 28, 2023
A senior Biden administration scientist authored an internal memo warning of the impacts offshore wind development may have on marine life months before the recent spate of whale deaths along the East Coast.
Sean Hayes, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) chief of protected species, penned the memo in May 2022 and sent it to Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) lead biologist Brian Hooker, also copying more than a dozen other scientists from the two agencies.
The memo highlighted Hayes’ concerns about how offshore wind construction and surveying could disrupt the endangered Atlantic right whale.
“The development of offshore wind poses risks to these species, which is magnified in southern New England waters due to species abundance and distribution,” Hayes wrote in the letter dated May 13.
“These risks occur at varying stages, including construction and development, and include increased noise, vessel traffic, habitat modifications, water withdrawals associated with certain substations.”
“The focus of this memo is on operational effects, and as such, focuses on potential oceanographic impacts driving right whale prey distribution, but also acknowledges increased risks due to increased vessel traffic and noise,” he continued.
“However, unlike vessel traffic and noise, which can be mitigated to some extent, oceanographic impacts from installed and operating turbines cannot be mitigated for the 30-year lifespan of the project, unless they are decommissioned.”
Hayes added that offshore wind development may also impact the distribution, abundance and availability of typical right whale food by causing oceanographic changes.
The revelation that administration officials were concerned about how offshore wind impacts whales comes amid an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast.
The Biden administration announced in 2021 that it intended to approve a staggering 30 gigawatts of offshore wind to be developed by 2030 as part of its climate agenda.
However, despite the May letter from Hayes and pleas from environmental groups, Biden administration officials have reiterated on multiple occasions that there isn’t sufficient evidence linking offshore wind to whale deaths and have noted there has been an unusual mortality event for the species stretching back years.
On Jan. 18, BOEM and NOAA officials held a press briefing, reiterating there wasn’t evidence offshore wind development was harmful and last week, the federal Marine Mammal Commission stated in a report that “despite several reports in the media, there is no evidence to link these strandings to offshore wind energy development.”
Paul Plante, NYSPE says
And where United States president Joseph Robinette Biden, Junior, the ruler of America by fiat, has ruled that we are in a climate crisis, which ruling is beyond questioning, and has further ruled that because we are in a climate crisis, we absolutely need these wind farms or we are all going to die from the climate crisis, and because we need these wind farms, there are NO ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS associated with these wind farms, what is there to mitigate?
Answer: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
As to this climate crisis, it was below freezing here this morning, it was snowing a bit ago, and it’s going down below freezing tonight, so if this global warming does not let up, I swear we are all going to freeze to death from it.
Paul Plante says
J Wheaton says @ APRIL 18, 2023 AT 12:00 AM: Hhow about fossil fuels?
They must be contributing to climate change.
What about fossil fuel Paul?
Paul replies: If in fact, as the expert climatologist Joseph Robinette Biden, Junior says, they cause global warming, I am hoping people will burn a lot more of it to warm things up where I am so I wouldn’t have to pay $300 per cord of firewood, thanks to BIDENFLATION, that last year cost me $220 per cord.