Offshore wind: Latest updates on whale deaths, more after Ørsted pullback in Maryland

Amid Ørsted announcing plans to step away last week from state agreements approving offshore wind development off Maryland, the future of the industry remains in limbo.

The company has said it is only stepping away from the financial mechanisms of the project of Skipjack 1 and 2, but will move forward with the construction phase on the lease property in questions. It is still assessing the costs associated with the combined 966-megawatt project.

Ørsted intends to continue advancing development and permitting for the combined project, including submission of its updated Construction and Operations Plan to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Here's a look at what happened with Ørsted's plans in New Jersey and Martha's Vineyard, plus the latest on whale deaths.

Ørsted announces Maryland pullback: Ørsted announces pullback in Maryland offshore wind plan as 'no longer commercially viable'

Wind projects: What's happening in New Jersey, Martha's Vineyard?

According to Ørsted, "macroeconomic factors" are impacting offshore wind projects globally, leading the company to pull out of a billion-dollar New Jersey-based offshore wind project in November of last year.

Since the decision by the company, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved offshore wind renewable energy certificates, or ORECs, to two other companies, Leading Light Wind, for a 2,400-megawatt project about 40 miles east of Atlantic City; and Attentive Energy Two, for a 1,342-megawatt project 50 miles east of Barnegat Light.

Leading Light Wind, a partnership between Chicago-based renewable energy developer Invenergy and New York-based co-developer energyRe, is expected to begin construction in 2028 and be in operation roughly around 2031, according to the company's website. The project is slated to power about 1.15 million New Jersey homes each year.

While Ørsted was reassessing development in Maryland, earlier this year on Jan. 2, wind turbines off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, began sending electricity ashore, reported The Boston Herald, a moment described by local officials, including that state’s governor, as “historic.”

This week, a juvenile right whale was found dead off Martha's Vineyard, but the cause of death has not yet been determined.

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What is the latest on whale deaths and wind projects?

As detractors like Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md.-1st, claiming the acoustics created by offshore wind turbines could create a whale mortality issue, studies have been conducted by federal agencies to determine the cause of continued whale deaths.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this year, scientists at its Woods Hole Laboratory used passive acoustics to create a baseline soundscape before wind developers started construction off the East Coast of southern New England.

The study was aimed at properly attributing whale deaths to vessel strikes, as they remain one of the biggest threats to sea mammals, including the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

The team will be able to compare the baseline data to future vessel sound data collected during turbine construction and operational periods. This will help identify any increased risk for vessel strikes as opposed to the acoustics created by the turbines themselves.

“These standardized baseline data will enable precautionary management decisions to be made by guiding the timing of seasonal closures, risk mitigation measures, and allow future evaluation of potential impacts," the study said. "“The species showed differences in seasonal presence, with some present in the spring and fall, others in the summer and/or winter. This shows that this area is an important habitat for activities such as feeding and socializing throughout the year. During all of this time these species are exposed to considerable vessel noise.”

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This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Latest on whale deaths, more as offshore wind in limbo in Maryland