NORFOLK, Va. — A recent lawsuit alleges offshore wind projects are to blame for whale deaths up and down the East Coast.
From March 3 to April 16, seven whales washed ashore in Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
The lawsuit filed by the conservative group Heartland Institute and other national non-profits claims there hasn't been enough research into the environmental impact of offshore wind, specifically how it impacts whales.
The filing aims to stop Dominion Energy's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial Project for further study on its environmental impacts, specifically, the risk it might pose to the North Atlantic right whale. Only 360 of the species remain.
THE QUESTION
Are offshore wind projects to blame for the recent "unusual mortality event" of whales?
THE SOURCES
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Gib Brogan with the environmental non-profit organization Oceana.
THE ANSWER
No, there is no scientific evidence to back up the claim that offshore wind projects cause what scientists call an "unusual mortality event" in whales.
WHAT WE FOUND
On its website, NOAA emphatically says there are no known links between large whale deaths and ongoing offshore wind activities, a statement emphasized by Brogan, the fisheries campaign director for Oceana.
"There is a tremendous amount of misinformation being put forward about the connection between offshore wind activities and marine life," Brogan said. "There’s no evidence that shows that wind activities are related to the deaths of these whales."
Close to 90 whales have died off the East Coast since the end of 2022, according to NOAA. The government agency and Oceana attribute many of those deaths to boat strikes and entanglements.
"It’s coming from the two most common causes of death for large whales in U.S. waters— one being hit by speeding boats and two being entangled with fishing gear," Brogan said.
The non-profit environmental group says the claim that offshore wind projects are killing whales is not backed by science.
"It’s being used by groups that are opposed to offshore wind generally," Brogan said. "Unfortunately, these marine mammals are being used as pawns in the anti-wind fight."
The Heartland Institute, one of the plaintiffs, is a national non-profit that rejects the scientific consensus on climate change. This petition is part of a growing narrative among offshore wind opponents that probing the ocean floor to prepare for wind turbine projects is killing whales.
Dominion Energy, one of the defendants in the lawsuit, said in a statement:
"There has been no delay ordered by the court. Our construction schedule has not been altered and stays on schedule. Installation of monopiles by the DEME-operated vessel "Orion" is expected to commence between May 6 and May 8.
The issues raised in this lawsuit have no merit. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has done an extraordinarily thorough environmental review of the project and carefully considered potential impacts to marine wildlife and the environment. The overwhelming consensus of federal agencies and scientific organizations is that offshore wind does not adversely impact marine life. We’ve put in place strong environmental protections for this project, and are confident the North Atlantic right whale will be protected."
They say no piling will occur during the North Atlantic right whale migration season and all vessels adhere to strict speed restrictions designed to avoid collisions with marine mammals.
"They do swim in those habitats and in the areas in and around the wind project that's scheduled to start off of Virginia Beach, there have been numerous detections and sightings of right whales over the last year," Brogan said. "We believe these projects can be developed in that area as long as the safeguards that have been established as long as they are respected, monitored and reported."