Orsted, Eversource partner with local fishermen on safety navigation

ORSTED A/S and Eversource Energy on Wednesday announced a partnership with Sea Services North America to employ local fishermen in navigation services for several of its wind farms. Orsted also owns the Block Island Wind Farm pictured above. / COURTESY ORSTED U.S. OFFSHORE WIND

PROVIDENCE – Local fishermen will play a role in ensuring safe passage around the massive wind farms planned for area waters under a new partnership announced in a statement on Wednesday.

The collaboration between Orsted A/S, Eversource Energy and Sea Services North America will use fishermen across Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York to identify safe navigation patterns around the series of wind farms Orsted and Eversource are developing up and down the East Coast.

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Sea Services, which is based in Waterford, Conn., has already provided scouting vessels and monitoring services to aid in research for Revolution Wind, a 700-megawatt project planned for federal waters off the coast of Block Island. 

Fishermen and wind developers have been at odds since the massive wind farm projects have taken off, struggling to negotiate compensation deals amid disagreement over safety and environmental impacts of the projects. The new collaboration marks the first “significant” commercial contract between an offshore wind developer and a commercial fishing consortium in the country’s history, the release stated.

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“We believe strongly that offshore wind can coexist with all ocean users, including the region’s commercial and recreational fishing fleets,”  David Hardy, CEO of Orsted Offshore North America said in a statement. “Our expanded collaboration with Sea Services will help us as we strive to achieve that coexistence, with the valuable support from fishermen who know the area’s waters best.”

The collaboration will create jobs for local fishermen, increase safety standards and offer training to participating crews. Currently, the contract extends to three Orsted and Eversource projects: Revolution Wind, South Fork Wind and Sunrise Wind. However, the company is also discussing expanding the contract to its Ocean Wind and Skipjack Wind projects in New Jersey and Maryland, respectively.

Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.

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