Wind

Dominion US offshore wind drama escalates with filing of motion to stop work

Consortium led by conservative Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (Cfact) seeks to halt looming pile driving to protect endangered right whales

. Monopiles for Dominion Energy's CVOW.
. Monopiles for Dominion Energy's CVOW.Photo: Dominion Energy
US Offshore Wind Editor, Recharge

The legal challenge in federal court to Dominion Energy's 2.6GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) heated up with a consortium of conservative plaintiffs filing a motion Friday to halt pile driving of the array’s 176 monopile foundations slated to begin next week.

The plaintiffs, including conservative Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (Cfact) and climate denying Heartland Institute claimed in their motion to the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia that the project will put the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale at risk.

Project construction, “especially pile driving for wind turbine foundations, will result in the unlawful “take” of North Atlantic Right Whales beyond the limits” of authorised incidental harassment.

It will “jeopardise the survival and recovery” of the species, the plaintiffs added.

Like all offshore wind projects, CVOW was granted Incidental Harassment authorisations by coastal watchdog National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) that permit a certain degree of annoyance, called ‘takes’ in the regulatory language, of marine species, including right whales.

Dominion was scheduled to begin pile driving in the waters 27 miles (43 km) off the coast of Virginia Beach this month with the beginning of the construction season 1 May but has been delayed due to “required maintenance” for some of the construction vessels, spokesperson Jeremy Slayton told Recharge today.
Belgian marine contractor Deme’s heavy lift vessel Orion has arrived at CVOW’s marshalling hub, Portsmouth Marine Terminal (PMT), “and is ready to install monopiles, consistent with the construction schedule previously communicated,” said Slayton.

“We expect installation to begin soon, and as early as next week,” he added.

Cfact’s motion supports the plaintiffs' lawsuit filed against BOEM and other agencies alleging that NMFS’ Biological Opinion (BiOp) for CVOW – its assessment of the impact of the project on coastal environments – “is defective”.

“It fails to include legally required analyses, is internally inconsistent, and contains unsupported conclusions,” the plaintiffs said in their motion.

“Because of these serious deficiencies, the Biological Opinion underreports the specific and cumulative impacts of the Project on the North Atlantic Right Whales,” they said.

NMFS, a consulting body to offshore energy regulator Bureau of Ocean Energy Managment, conducts the BiOp under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in parallel with the multi-agency environmental impact statement (EIS) process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Cfact's “injury-in-fact arises from the jeopardy to the continued existence of species resulting from the construction and operation of the Dominion” offshore wind farm, the plaintiffs said.

A recent motion for a preliminary injunction to stop installation of Orsted's 704MW Revolution project on similar grounds was recently thrown out by DC District Court judge Royce Lamberth, as were several suits against Vineyard Wind.

“The issues raised in this lawsuit have no merit,” Dominion responded in its own filing to the court 6 May.

“We’ve put in place strong environmental protections for this project and are confident the North Atlantic right whale will be protected,” it added.

(Copyright)
Published 10 May 2024, 22:48Updated 11 May 2024, 00:22
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