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Gov. Janet Mills vetoed a bill on Friday that would have required companies leasing state land for clean energy projects to work with unions hoping to represent their workers. The bill, L.D. 373, is aimed at the offshore wind power terminal and manufacturing facility the Mills administration aims to build in Searsport. Mills said she vetoed the bill because it contained ambiguous language and was too far-reaching in its scope. ....
According to Szostek, “80 percent of the 43 wind farms that are currently operational or under construction are viewed as impacting fishing activity. The majority of fishers have had to use different fishing grounds due to wind farms, with a few choosing to change gear and one fisher leaving the industry as a result.” “So far, 57 percent of respondents have cited a negative outcome on catches and profitability, and just one person has experienced a positive outcome on catches and profitability.” ....
Vineyard Wind recently touted in a press release that 937 union workers have been hired so far for its construction phase. The second annual report on Vineyard Wind’s employment and economic impact, prepared by UMass Dartmouth and research firm Springline Research Group, shows that among the 757 Massachusetts-based union workers hired by the offshore wind developer, only one person was from Dukes County. ....
The jobs report itself, which was conducted by UMass Dartmouth and Springline Research Group, found that employment on the Vineyard Wind project has not yet reached original projections. However, the total economic output — a term that combines the project’s cost with other spending and taxes — has already exceeded expectations. Furthermore, only 18% of union workers on the project reside in New Bedford — a figure that includes people who relocated to New Bedford temporarily. This finding was not included in Vineyard Wind's press release or the report itself, but was confirmed by David Borges, one of the authors. ....
Amid failing turbine components and financial challenges, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy said Friday it has “discontinued” its plans to build the nation’s first offshore wind-turbine blade manufacturing facility at the Port of Virginia’s Portsmouth Marine Terminal. “Siemens Gamesa will continue to meet our obligations for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. Siemens Gamesa discontinued plans to build and operate an offshore blade facility in Virginia, as development milestones to establish the facility could not be met,” a spokesperson for the Spanish-German wind turbine company said in a statement. ....