Contrary to politicians’ claims, offshore wind farms don’t kill whales, here’s what to know

Unfounded claims about offshore wind threatening whales have surfaced as a flashpoint in fight over future of renewable energy. In recent months, conservatives including former President Donald Trump have claimed construction of offshore wind turbines is killing giant animals. Scientists say re is credible evidence linking offshore wind farms to whale deaths. But that hasn’t stopped conservative groups and ad hoc “t in my back yard”-style anti-development groups from making connection.

Associated Press sorts fact from fiction when it comes to whales and wind power as rare rth Atlantic right whale’s migration season gets underway:

WHERE ARE U.S. OFFSHORE WIND PROJECTS?

To date, two commercial offshore wind farms are under construction in United States. Danish wind energy developer Ørsted and utility Eversource are building South Fork Wind, located 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Montauk Point, New York. Ørsted anunced Dec. 7 that first of its 12 turbines re is w sending electricity onto grid. Vineyard Wind is building a 62-turbine wind farm 15 miles (24 kilometers) off Massachusetts. Both plan to open by early next year, and or large offshore wind projects are obtaining permits.

re are also two pilot projects — five turbines off Rhode Island and two off Virginia. Biden administration aims to power 10 million homes with offshore wind by 2030 a key piece of its climate goals.

Lawsuits from community groups delayed Ørsted’s two large offshore wind projects in New Jersey and company recently anunced it’s cancelling those projects. That decision was based on ir ecomic viability and had thing to do with offshore wind opposition in New Jersey, said David Hardy, group executive vice president and CEO Americas at Ørsted

ARE U.S. WIND FARMS CAUSING WHALE DEATHS?

Experts say re’s evidence that limited wind farm construction on Atlantic Coast has directly resulted in any whale deaths, despite politically motivated statements suggesting a link.

Rumors began to swirl after 2016, when an unusual number of whales started to be found dead or stranded on New England beaches -- a trend that predates major offshore wind farm construction that began this year.“With whale strandings along rast earlier this year in places like New Jersey, reality is that it’s t from offshore wind,” said Aaron Rice, a marine biologist at Cornell University.

In answering questions about whale strandings earlier this year, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that around 40% of recovered whale carcasses showed evidence of death from fishing gear entanglement or vessel strikes. ors could t be linked to a specific cause.

In Europe, where offshore wind has been developed for more than three decades, national ncies also have t found causal links between wind farms and whale deaths.

Meanwhile, U.S. scientists are collecting data near offshore wind farms to monitor any possible impacts short of fatality, such as altered behavior or changes to migration routes. This research is still in preliminary sts, said Doug wacek, a marine biologist at Duke University who helped put trackers on whales this summer off Massachusetts as part of a 5-year federally-funded study.

WHAT REAL DANGERS DO WHALES FACE?

While exact causes of recent whale strandings along East Coast mostly are t kwn, whales do face dangers from human activities.

biggest threats are shipping collisions and entanglement in fishing gear, according to scientists and federal authorities. Underwater ise pollution is ar concern, y say.

Some advocates for protecting whales have characterized push against offshore wind power as a distraction from real issues. “It seems that this is being used in an opportunistic way by anti-wind interests,” said Gib Brogan, fisheries campaign director at environmental group Oceana.

Since 2016, humpback whales have been dying at an advanced rate — one federal government terms an “unusual mortality event.” much rarer rth Atlantic right whale with fewer than 360 on Earth is also experiencing an unusual mortality event.

AA reports 83 whales have died off East Coast since Dec. 1, 2022. Roughly half were humpbacks between Massachusetts and rth Carolina, and two were critically-endangered right whales in rth Carolina and Virginia.

WHAT’S BEING DONE TO PROTECT WHALES NEAR WIND FARMS?

Federal law sets limits on human-generated sound underwater for continuous ise and short sudden bursts.

Marine construction projects can reduce possible impact on marine mammals, including by pausing construction during migration seasons, using “bubble curtains” to contain sound from pile-driving and stationing trained observers with biculars on ships to look for marine mammals.

Offshore wind developers are taking steps required by regulators, but also are voluntarily adopting measures to ensure marine mammals are t harmed. Ørsted won’t drive piles between Dec. 1 and April 30, when whales are on move. It uses additional lookout vehicles, encircles mopiles for turbines with bubble curtains and does underwater acoustic monitoring.

Equir plans to use acoustic monitoring and infrared cameras to detect whales when it starts developing two lease areas off Long Island with its partner bp. company says it will limit pile driving to months when right whales are least likely to be present.

ARE WHALES IMPACTED BY CLIMATE CHANGE?

One reason whale advocates push for renewable energy is that y say climate change is harming animals and less reliance on fossil fuels would help solve that problem.

Scientists say global warming has caused right whale’s preferred food tiny crustaceans to move as waters have warmed.

That means whales have strayed from protected areas of ocean in search of food, leaving m vulnerable to ship strikes and entanglements. Large whales play a vitally important role in ecosystem by storing carbon, so some scientists say y are also part of solution to climate change.

(AP Inputs)