{"id":2317995,"date":"2024-08-02T04:45:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-02T08:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wind-turbine-debacle-shows-biden-harris-green-new-deal-failure\/"},"modified":"2024-08-02T04:49:04","modified_gmt":"2024-08-02T08:49:04","slug":"wind-turbine-debacle-shows-biden-harris-green-new-deal-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wind-turbine-debacle-shows-biden-harris-green-new-deal-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"Wind Turbine Debacle Shows Biden-Harris Green New Deal Failure"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwind-turbine-debacle-shows-biden-harris-green-new-deal-failure%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2317995&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Vineyard Wind, a \u200bkey\u200b offshore energy project \u2062in New England central to the Biden-Harris administration&#8217;s environmental agenda, is facing\u2064 legal \u2063challenges.\u2064 Recently, a Boston appellate court heard arguments regarding the\u200d Seafreeze lawsuit, which\u2064 aims to reverse federal approvals \u200band \u2062remove \u200dwind\u2064 turbines already installed.\u200b The lawsuit,\u200b brought by fishing families, follows a difficult period for the \u2064project, including a major\u2063 incident where \u200ba GE turbine malfunctioned, sending debris into nearby waters and leading to beach closures.<\/p>\n<p>Former fisherman Jerry Leeman highlighted \u200bthe potential dangers of these towering turbines, \u2063which pose risks to marine life \u2064and those \u2064working in the\u200d fishing industry. During\u2063 the court proceedings,\u2062 attorneys representing the affected fishing families expressed concerns about \u200dthe environmental impact of the project&#8217;s construction, particularly regarding the effects of \u2062dredging on\u2062 local fish populations.<\/p>\n<p>The judges appeared skeptical of the previous court&#8217;s ruling that the fishermen lacked standing to sue. The case also \u2062brought attention to the changing landscape\u2062 of \u2062administrative law, particularly\u200b in light of \u200brecent \u2063Supreme Court decisions affecting federal deference in environmental regulations. The core argument rests on whether the Bureau \u200bof Ocean Energy\u2063 Management sufficiently ensured the Vineyard Wind project&#8217;s safety \u2062and environmental compliance.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The timing couldn&rsquo;t have been worse for Vineyard Wind, the New England offshore energy project that the Biden-Harris &ldquo;Green New Deal&rdquo; depends upon. Last week, a Boston appellate court heard arguments on the&nbsp;<em>Seafreeze<\/em>&nbsp;lawsuit, seeking to unwind the federal approval and remove the wind turbines already in place. The fishing families bringing suit had fair winds and favorable seas in the Boston court appearance.<\/p>\n<p>This comes after a stormy season for the Vineyard Wind project. About two weeks ago, a massive GE turbine experienced a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vineyardwind.com\/press-releases\/2024\/7\/15\/vineyard-wind-statement-on-offshore-incident\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">blade failure<\/a>&rdquo; that sent fiberglass shards and debris into the waters off Martha&rsquo;s Vineyard and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/16\/climate\/wind-turbine-breaks-nantucket.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">forced the closure<\/a> of six Nantucket beaches.<\/p>\n<p>Quoted in the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/newbedfordlight.org\/turbine-blade-broke-during-testing-phase-vineyard-wind-says\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">New Bedford Light<\/a>, former fisherman Jerry Leeman said he and others have been warning about the dangers of these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-top-energy-regulator-lobbied-for-company-behind-admin-approved-wind-farm\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s Top Energy Regulator Lobbied for Company Behind Admin-Approved Wind Farm\">offshore wind farms<\/a> for years.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Vineyard Wind windmills are taller than the Eiffel Tower. Their blades are longer than a football field,&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/newbedfordlight.org\/turbine-blade-broke-during-testing-phase-vineyard-wind-says\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said Leeman, CEO of the New England Fishermen&rsquo;s Stewardship Association<\/a>. &ldquo;When they fall, they endanger vessels and degrade the environment. We must stop the industrialization of our oceans to protect mariners and marine life.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>During Thursday&rsquo;s argument, attorneys with the Texas Public Policy Foundation argued on behalf of the&nbsp;<em>Seafreeze<\/em>&nbsp;coalition, representing other fishing families in the region &mdash; and by extension, all of the hardworking Americans who make their living from our national waters.<\/p>\n<p>The three-judge panel, appointed by President Joe Biden, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ca1.uscourts.gov\/sites\/ca1\/files\/oralargs\/23-1853_20240725.mp3\">seemed skeptical<\/a> of the trial court&rsquo;s determination that the fisherman coalition lacked an injury sufficient to sue. As Judge Seth Aframe pointed out, the dredge dumped on the seafloor during the multi-year construction process would kill the very fish depended upon by the&nbsp;<em>Seafreeze<\/em>&nbsp;parties to sustain their livelihood.<\/p>\n<p>Why is a Texas think tank interested in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-top-energy-regulator-previously-lobbied-for-offshore-wind-farm-approved-by-administration\/\" title=\"Biden&#039;s Top Energy Regulator Previously Lobbied for Offshore Wind Farm Approved by Administration\">offshore wind farm<\/a> in New England? Look at a map; Texas has&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.beg.utexas.edu\/publications\/gulf-shoreline-texas-processes-characteristics-and-factors-use\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">367 miles of coastline<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The attorney for the federal government urged the panel to rubber-stamp the federal government&rsquo;s approval of the project. But the landscape for administrative law challenges to federal agency action has changed since the recent U.S. Supreme Court&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/23pdf\/22-451_7m58.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Loper Bright<\/a>&nbsp;<\/em>opinion, which eliminated&nbsp;<em>Chevron&nbsp;<\/em>deference.<\/p>\n<p>The heart of our Outer Continental Lands Act (OCLA) argument was that federal law required that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management ensure the safety and environmental protection from the Vineyard Wind project. But the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/she-claimed-two-guys-murdered-her-mom-she-was-simply-sentenced-for-the-crime\/\" title=\"She Claimed Two Guys Murdered Her Mom. She Was Simply Sentenced For The Crime.\">trial court erred<\/a> by deferring to BOEM&rsquo;s belief that its review met this standard, without the trial court doing its own statutory examination as to what the law required.<\/p>\n<p>As evidenced by the green shards of debris floating up on the Nantucket shore, BOEM clearly did not ensure that Vineyard Wind met these requirements. That&rsquo;s because &mdash; in its rush to implement its &ldquo;energy transformation&rdquo; &mdash; the Biden-Harris administration ignored key environmental concerns and improperly allowed foreign-owned energy companies to move forward despite the harms to our domestic industries and environment.<\/p>\n<p>As David Blackmon writes in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/davidblackmon\/2024\/07\/18\/big-trouble-for-bidens-big-offshore-wind-plans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Forbes<\/a>, none of this inspires confidence in the federal government&rsquo;s commitment to the safety of the environment &mdash; or of American workers.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The net result so far of almost 3 years of activity is a single project &mdash; Vineyard Wind 1 &mdash; managing to place 10 turbines into operations for about 5 months before being shut down for safety concerns,&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/davidblackmon\/2024\/07\/18\/big-trouble-for-bidens-big-offshore-wind-plans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">he noted<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The federal government is required to ensure safety and environmental protection by law when approving projects including offshore wind farms.<\/p>\n<p>And officials knew this project came with risks &mdash; but they pushed ahead anyway, in pursuit of the Biden-Harris Green New Deal. Offshore wind is just another of the Biden-Harris administration&rsquo;s sinking policies. Last Thursday&rsquo;s arguments were the court&rsquo;s opportunity to tack in a new direction by finding the approval of the Vineyard Wind project illegal from the outset, and ensuring that the tragedy of the last two weeks does not become as regular as the tides.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      The Honorable Robert Henneke is the Executive Director and General Counsel at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The timing for Vineyard Wind, the offshore energy initiative in New England that is crucial to the Biden-Harris &#8220;Green New Deal,&#8221; couldn&#8217;t be more unfortunate. Recently, a Boston appellate court reviewed arguments regarding the Seafreeze lawsuit, which aims to reverse federal approval and dismantle the existing wind turbines. The fishing families involved in the lawsuit had a favorable day in court. This development follows a tumultuous period for Vineyard Wind; just two weeks ago, a large GE turbine suffered a &#8220;blade failure,&#8221; scattering fiberglass debris into the waters near Martha&#8217;s Vineyard and leading to beach closures on Nantucket.<\/p>\n<p>Former fisherman Jerry Leeman expressed concerns about offshore wind farms&#8217; risks, stating that &#8220;the Vineyard Wind windmills are taller than the Eiffel Tower&#8221; with blades longer than a football field. He emphasized that their collapse poses threats to vessels and harms marine ecosystems, urging an end to ocean industrialization for the sake of both mariners and marine life.<\/p>\n<p>During Thursday&#8217;s hearing, attorneys from the Texas Public Policy Foundation represented Seafreeze and other regional fishing families\u2014essentially advocating for all Americans who rely on national waters for their livelihoods. The three-judge panel appointed by President Biden appeared doubtful about whether these fishermen had sufficient grounds to sue based on previous court findings. Judge Seth Aframe highlighted that dredging during construction could harm fish populations vital to these families&#8217; survival.<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, one might wonder why a Texas think tank is concerned with an offshore project in New England when Texas has its own extensive coastline of 367 miles. The federal attorney urged judges to uphold government approval of Vineyard Wind; however, recent changes in administrative law following the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s Loper Bright decision have altered how such cases are evaluated.<\/p>\n<p>The core argument under our Outer Continental Lands Act (OCLA) was that federal law mandates safety and environmental protections from projects like Vineyard Wind\u2014a requirement overlooked by lower courts as they deferred too readily to BOEM\u2019s assurances without conducting their own legal analysis.<\/p>\n<p>Evidence of this oversight was clear with debris washing ashore at Nantucket; it indicated BOEM failed its duty regarding safety standards due to hasty implementation of energy policies by the Biden-Harris administration while disregarding significant environmental issues affecting domestic industries.<\/p>\n<p>As noted by David Blackmon in Forbes, there is little confidence left regarding federal commitment toward environmental or worker safety given that nearly three years have yielded only one operational project\u2014Vineyard Wind 1\u2014which ran ten turbines for five months before being shut down over safety issues.<\/p>\n<p>Legally mandated safeguards must be ensured when approving projects like offshore wind farms; officials were aware of inherent risks yet proceeded anyway under pressure from Green New Deal objectives. Last Thursday&#8217;s court proceedings presented an opportunity for reevaluation\u2014potentially declaring initial approvals illegal\u2014to prevent further incidents like those witnessed recently from becoming commonplace<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2166,"featured_media":2317996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Copy-of-Untitled-57.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[22792,36979,34079],"class_list":["post-2317995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-biden-harris","tag-green-new-deal","tag-wind-turbine"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Copy-of-Untitled-57.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2317995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317995\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2317996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2317995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2317995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2317995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}