Matt Pilon
The three public gas companies serving Connecticut businesses and residents recently submitted their annual Natural Gas Expansion Plan data to state regulators, reporting that from 2014 through the end of 2017, they converted 61,486 customers. That's about 62 percent of their original goal for that time period.
The conversion pace has been slowed by lower-than-expected oil prices, which has made it less financially appealing for consumers and businesses to invest in a switch to natural gas.
The slow conversion pace is also hampering Connecticut's environmental goals, at least to some extent. Connecticut has set ambitious greenhouse-gas emission reduction targets, with milestones approaching in 2030 and 2050. Natural gas generally burns cleaner than oil, so getting more customers to use that heating fuel would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by a greater amount.
Meantime, lackluster demand for natural gas could also play into an ever-raging debate about what Connecticut's energy future should look like. There are disagreements, for example, over whether or not Connecticut needs more gas pipelines to meet peak demand during periods of extreme temperature.
While utilities say natural gas remains an attractive and advantageous heating fuel, clean-energy advocates argue that state policy should shift away from incentivizing natural gas in favor of more renewables and efficient electric heat.
Aggressive goals
Lawmakers and regulators created the ratepayer-funded natural gas expansion plan in 2013, perceiving a "historic opportunity" for Connecticut energy users.
The plan, which was vehemently opposed and legally challenged by oil dealers, sought to seize upon a then-wide spread between gas and oil prices — one that was projected to continue — and help with the state's efforts to reduce air pollution.
It also aimed to provide an economic stimulus by spurring natural gas pipeline construction and helping ratepayers save on their energy bills.
But lower-than-expected oil prices have made conversions less attractive.
When the expansion plan was being devised, lawmakers relied on a 2012 forecast by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), which predicted oil prices would rise to $3.73 per gallon by 2015. That never happened and oil prices have remained below $3 a gallon for most of the past two years. Residential-delivered heating oil even dipped below $2.40 per gallon during a 17-week stretch in 2015 and 2016, a threshold state officials previously said would make natural gas conversions cost prohibitive.
The gas companies, particularly those owned by Orange-based energy provider Avangrid, have frequently revised their annual conversion goals downward since the program began, and both Eversource and Avangrid did so again for 2018, regulatory filings show.
Eversource's gas utility is now targeting 4,700 customer conversions this year, down from an original goal of 9,372, while Avangrid's two gas utilities have revised their combined goal of 20,100 conversions to 6,000, citing fuel prices and other factors.
Dave Allain, Eversource's director of gas expansion, said initial conversion targets — which called for Eversource to add 82,400 natural gas customers over a decade — were "extremely aggressive."
Pricing dynamics, however, could always change. Oil prices rose late last year, which has helped the utilities convert more customers. But regardless of how much, if any, money a conversion saves consumers, Allain says there are other reasons customers want natural gas — it's convenient, cleaner, doesn't run out and can be used for stoves, grills and other household appliances.
He said Eversource has grown much more skillful marketing gas conversions, describing the effort as a "fine-tuned machine." He said he's confident he can exceed the 4,700 conversions Eversource forecasted this year, perhaps by 1,000.
"We started this thing a little naive, we had a lot of growing pains, but I believe we're in a great position today," Allain said. "The results will show in 2018."
Eversource has managed to stay closer than Avangrid to its original conversion goals over the past four years, regulatory filings show.
Avangrid converted 40,194 customers between 2014 and 2017, compared to an original goal of 71,300. Avangrid spokesman Ed Crowder said the company's gas utilities remain committed to the expansion plan.
"Initial goals set forth in the strategy were based on then-current market conditions, and we have updated these forecasts each year to account for changing fuel prices and other variables," Crowder said. "We have substantially met our revised goals despite a significant decrease in the cost of heating oil."
Clean energy advocates push heat pumps
While utilities are still gung-ho on natural gas conversions, Emily Lewis, policy analyst at the nonprofit Acadia Center, says Connecticut should shift its incentives away from the heating fuel and toward heat pumps, which in colder months capture outdoor heat energy and transfer it inside a home or building.
Technological improvements in heat pumps have made them more efficient than natural gas heat in many instances, she said, as well as more effective in cold winters.
And according to Acadia's projections, Connecticut simply cannot meet its emissions-reduction targets over the next three decades without a big increase in the number of households using heat pumps (it's about 2 percent or less currently, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection).
Lewis says incentivizing natural gas conversions effectively guarantees greenhouse-gas emissions for the life of the new boilers and other equipment — often 15 years or more, whereas electricity generated in Connecticut is getting cleaner over time thanks to renewable energy like wind and solar.
"I think Connecticut needs to evaluate where it needs to go and why it's still incentivizing natural gas if it recognizes we need to move toward electrification," she said.
Dan Haar: We’ve got the do-nothing gamblin’ blues
By Dan Haar
It’s hot outside, beach season, and the state Capitol is mostly empty these days as the governor closes out his eight-year tenure and members of the General Assembly fish for votes.
Precisely the time we should worry about lack of any action on a state gambling strategyAll is quiet on Bridgeport Harbor, where a casino might or might not rise up to employ 2,000 people in the next few years. All is quiet when it comes to sports betting at Sportech’s Winners and Bobby V’s Off-Track Betting locations, which could someday host wagering on athletic events, or not.
And all is status quo at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun when it comes to Connecticut’s gaming strategy — which may be just the way the tribes like it. But for the rest of us, it’s a lost opportunity that could cost tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars and the chance to add thousands of jobs.
This was the summer when we were supposed to see a special session of the General Assembly to make some decisions about sports betting. Recall, the U.S. Supreme Court in June made it legal for states to zoom ahead on that front, and many, notably New Jersey, are doing just that in the hope of sparking a new industry.
This was the summer when we were supposed to figure out whether we’re better off sticking with the Native American tribes and their payments to the state totaling 25 percent of dwindling slot machine revenues — or move to a broader, commercial casino system with companies such as MGM and Penn National. That might yield more money for the state but the General Assembly failed to sanction a study.This was the summer when we were supposed to look at online gaming, an unpalatable and parasitic activity as it stands now, which isn’t going away and could come under state regulation to the betterment of bettors and taxpayers alike.Instead, we’ve got nothing but nice weather and a colorful campaign season. Not bad, but it’s a formula for failure in 2019 and beyond.
What we could see this summer, and soon, is a spat in East Windsor over the possible construction of a casino built jointly by the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes. That’s now in a legal quagmire that shows no sign of ending but permits are coming up for approval.
And what we will see, on Aug. 24, is the opening of MGM Springfield, the $950 million casino resort just over the state line, with Stevie Wonder performing Sept. 1. At least it will employ some Connecticut residents.
As for our slow-burn failure? Here’s what’s going to happen, month-by-month. January: The new legislature will convene amid hope and hoopla. February: The new governor will propose a budget and say he’ll listen to gaming ideas. March: Committees will convene public hearings on competing gambling proposals, most notably the $675 million MGM casino plan for Bridgeport Harbor — for which the company is seeking only the right to bid openly, not a license.
April-May: The House and Senate will sit in their ornate chambers but won’t pass meaningful gaming legislation. “We don’t have enough information,” they will say as lobbyists on all sides pound them with conflicting factsIn a final punctuation of inaction, the General Assembly will gavel the session to a close in June — almost a full year from now — and we’ll have done nothing as other states eat our lunch.
Aaaaaagh! We can gather what we need right now! Trouble is, we really need a broad, comprehensive strategy but we’re stuck on details. For example, the tribes claim they own the rights to sports betting under their ’90s-era agreements with the state. The state claims that’s not true, but has no intention of icing the tribes out of the action altogether.
Following federal law, the state is negotiating with the tribes. But there’s no sign of an agreement. And without a deal, there’s no reason for the legislature to go into a special session to set the direction of sports betting.
That means Sportech, the Toronto-based, historically British company that owns the OTB locations and sells racetrack technology in 37 states from its New Haven offices, can’t move forward with sports betting in its home state“MGM is very much engaged in conducting really a nationwide analysis of where we think the sports betting opportunities are and we think that Connecticut could be an attractive market if properly regulated and the market is open,” said Uri Clinton, senior vice president and legal counsel for MGM Resorts International.
The good news: As we burn through summer, there are things Connecticut can do“Many states have used their contracting rights and their procurement processes to issue requests for information, to start studies,” Clinton said. “Connecticut could do any of those things. ... We’ve been pushing for almost three years for a comprehensive, global approach.”
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s economic development department could conduct a study, but would anyone buy it after he’s gone next year? At the least, his administration could put out a request for information, and collect, say, $50,000 or $100,000 from potential casino bidders, setting that money aside for a study of the market in early 2019.As for siting a Bridgeport or other commercial casino, it’s the same story. We don’t know whether that would be good or bad for the state because, once again, we haven’t studied it.I’m not naive, of course the tribes precisely don’t want progress here, except in their legal case to extract federal approval of their joint agreement in East Windsor.
But here are the numbers, saved for last: The tribes’ payments to the state will drop below $200 million in 2019-20, with MGM Springfield and the giant Boston casino both open. Between Bridgeport (up to $200 million), sports betting (maybe $60 million) and regulated online gambling, we’re almost certainly looking at more than $200 million in revenues, which could happen more efficiently with several players in the market, even if that means we lose some Mohegan and Foxwoods money.
Or, it could happen that we’re better off sticking with the tribes. We don’t know now and we won’t know when the issue makes headlines next spring, and so we will we set ourselves up for another summer of inaction in 2019.
Blakeslee Construction, O&G provide materials, time for senior center gardens
TORRINGTON — July 9 was another hot and steamy day in Torrington, but that didn’t stop a small band of volunteers from completing a mission — pouring a new concrete floor for the pavilion at the Sullivan Senior Center Garden, also known as the Bowman Community Gardens, early that morning. The gardens were constructed by students from Oliver Wolcott Tech for the Sullivan Senior Center. A new pavilion now has a concrete floor, allowing visitors a shelterd space to enjoy the gardens on Mountain Road.Sonny Blakeslee, who is retiring from Blakeslee Construction, made pouring the concrete his last task, donating his time and some fellow employees to do the job.
“Rich Boulli was instrumental in securing workers and concrete for this job,” said Janet Recidivi, who was also at the garden to see the floor poured.
“Sonny volunteered his services as did Egidio Recidivi, who used to work with (Sonny’s) father, Vern Blakeslee, and at O&G before he retired several years ago,” she said.
Recidivi noted that O&G Contruction, based in Torrington, generously donated the concrete for the floor, completing the pavilion that OWTS built for the senior garden.On the senior center’s web page, members said, “We are very proud of the progression of the Bowman Community Gardens. With gardeners planting 60 beds and the support of friends in the community and local business the gardens have evolved into one of Torrington's best kept secrets. The gardens not only provide space for growing vegetables and flowers, they promote socialization, exercise and healthy eating.” Learn more by calling the senior center at 860-489-2211.
Eversource construction project has begun
MIDDLEWTOWN — As part of a multi-million-dollar project to reinforce the natural gas distribution system in Middletown, Eversource will be working nights along State Routes 17 and 155 beginning the week of July 15. Drivers may experience delays due to alternating one-way traffic. To ensure the safe completion of this work, police and signs will be deployed approaching these locations to help manage the flow of traffic.
The work will continue weather permitting, Sunday through Friday between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. beginning the week of July 15. Work is expected to be complete by late November.
The project is on Route 17 (South Main Street) from the Durham town line north to Route 155 (Randolph Road), and continuing east on Route 155 (Randolph Road) to Bartholomew Road.
Construction on Bridgeport’s Harding High nears finish line
BRIDGEPORT — Peering out from the floor-to-ceiling window in the assistant principal suite down to the pristine Warren Harding High School football field a floor below is like being in a luxury box.
The floor finish is still drying. Wires and cables are still hanging from the ceiling tiles. Some 200 workmen are spread throughout the four-level structure that covers 207,000 square feet.
“The push is on,” said Larry Schilling, a program manager for the construction project that he insists will be ready for occupancy by late August. School starts Aug. 30.
At $107 million, the new school is not the most expensive built in the city — Fairchild Wheeler still holds that distinction — but it may just be the most distinctive It’s curved facade reminds many of the hull of A ship stretching from stem to stern. It’s auditorium has a retractable, hangar-like door that will allow the stage to double as an amphitheater. Visible on a northern corner of the property is a wide solar panel farm that will help provide energy to the facilities.
And the East End school is bringing along touches of Harding’s 1925 character to remind students of where they are.
A set of stone relief sculptures of student athletes that used to be on the outside of the gym have found a home above the interior entrance to the new gym. So have large bronze dedication plaques from old Harding and trophy cases. Before school starts the championship banners will be hoisted from the ceiling in the main gym.
“It’s all coming along nicely,” said Schilling.
With about six weeks to go, crews are working 10 hours a day and on Saturdays.
Long time coming
A new Harding has been in the works for years, delayed for a number of reasons including its location. It sits on 17 acres of a former GE factory and on top of decades worth of contaminants that had to be extracted from the ground or sealed.
By the time construction is complete, Schilling suspects the city can add Harding to the list of schools that have acquired LEED, (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, meaning it is low maintenance and environmentally friendly.
Another issue was the original plans, deemed to be too small for the 1,150 students the school is expected to house. That forced modifications that increased the budget.
The school’s exterior look also got revised when a planned circular aluminum exterior facade — referred to as Brise-Soleil — was nixed by pretty much everybody and dropped from the design.
Even the name of the school became an issue with some pressing for a change even as the painted on “Harding Presidents” lettering dried on the school’s track.
It will not have to be changed.
Bells and whistles
Furniture is expected to start arriving Monday.
Where as Fairchild Wheeler opened five years ago with construction continuing in some parts of the building, Schilling said his aim is to complete this building by the time teachers and students arrive in late August “My intent is to be completely done,” Schilling said.
Kathy Silver, an assistant principal at Harding, has visited the new school a couple of times now with other school administrators. Silver said she is most excited to grow the arts in the new building. A former photography teacher, Silver envisions a strong visual and performing arts program.
“We are introducing a video program as well,” Silver said.
In addition to the unique stage, there is a television studio in the new building and a graphics lab. Off the cafeteria, there is also a culinary arts suite. The main part of the school will have three of what Antinozzi Associates, architects of the project, call collabagoras. A light and airy central space between classrooms, the collabagoras will also allow students to see through glass railings to floors above and below. There will be one for each of the school’s three houses.
A bank of metal detectors is being installed at the main entrance. Every entrance will have bullet resistant glass. The facility will also boast 130 security cameras.
On the north side of the school, there will be an on-site day care center and an Optimum Health satellite office.
Interim Principal Dane Brown, who has also been to the new school, is reported to have jumped the fence to run the length of the football field, just to try it out.
The field is actually quite visible from all rooms on the west side of the school. From windows on the south western corner toward Boston Avenue, there is a good view of the old Remington Arms shot tower and Peoples Bank high-rise downtown.
Engineer says to expect delays in Route 6 construction
BRIAN M. JOHNSON
BRISTOL - Route 6 construction is expected to face delays due to the relocation of telecommunications lines running beneath the road, says city Engineer Ray Rogozinski.
The construction work, which began in April 2017, consists of numerous traffic improvements that are intended to ultimately make the route safer for travel. The project was originally estimated to conclude in November of this year, but Rogozinski said that progress has been slowed.
“A lot of work is happening on Route 6 at the town line,” said Rogozinski. “This is a state-led project, but we have been informed that the schedule has been impacted by utility conflicts. There are telecommunications lines running beneath Route 6 that they originally wanted to isolate. Now they are working to relocate them to off-road.”
The project spans from the intersection of Carol Drive and Route 6 in Bristol to the intersections of Peggy Lane and Route 6 in Farmington.
Improvements are intended to adjust the existing pavement cross-slope, make drainage modifications and upgrades, and change the traffic signals to fit the alterations. An eastbound lane will also be added between the two intersections in order to reduce congestion, delays, gridlock and safety concerns. Additionally, sidewalks are planned along the corridor along with bicycle lanes.
The planning for this project took into consideration input from an online community survey conducted in 2016. Only 1 percent of those who filled out the survey said they felt the corridor was fine as it was. Seventy percent of those who responded said there should be additional turning lanes and half said that travel lanes should be added. Thirty-five percent said improvements to sidewalks and crosswalks were needed in some areas.
The project was awarded to Empire Paving in fall 2016, for the cost of $12.87 million. Eighty percent of the project cost comes from federal funding and the rest is matched by municipalities.
Work on 2 CCSU buildings on track for January
Sarah Willson
With doors set to open in January, Central Connecticut State University construction is on track for the big reveal of its two new and improved academic buildings.
“A lot of work is happening on Route 6 at the town line,” said Rogozinski. “This is a state-led project, but we have been informed that the schedule has been impacted by utility conflicts. There are telecommunications lines running beneath Route 6 that they originally wanted to isolate. Now they are working to relocate them to off-road.”
The project spans from the intersection of Carol Drive and Route 6 in Bristol to the intersections of Peggy Lane and Route 6 in Farmington.
Improvements are intended to adjust the existing pavement cross-slope, make drainage modifications and upgrades, and change the traffic signals to fit the alterations. An eastbound lane will also be added between the two intersections in order to reduce congestion, delays, gridlock and safety concerns. Additionally, sidewalks are planned along the corridor along with bicycle lanes.
The planning for this project took into consideration input from an online community survey conducted in 2016. Only 1 percent of those who filled out the survey said they felt the corridor was fine as it was. Seventy percent of those who responded said there should be additional turning lanes and half said that travel lanes should be added. Thirty-five percent said improvements to sidewalks and crosswalks were needed in some areas.
The project was awarded to Empire Paving in fall 2016, for the cost of $12.87 million. Eighty percent of the project cost comes from federal funding and the rest is matched by municipalities.
Work on 2 CCSU buildings on track for January
Sarah Willson
With doors set to open in January, Central Connecticut State University construction is on track for the big reveal of its two new and improved academic buildings.
The $62 million Willard-DiLoreto Halls project, which is being funded by bonds issued by the state, will feature 21 departments including English, modern languages, veterans affairs, and financial aid.
“We’re moving along as scheduled. … Much of the work is now focused on the inside of the buildings, CCSU President Zulma Toro said. “The expected move-in will take place early next year, and we can’t wait.”
James Grupp, director of engineering at CCSU, who oversees the construction, said the building will be completed and ready for use by January.
“All the brick is done on the building, the exterior is being buttoned up, sheetrock is going up, and we have some mock-up rooms that are done,” Grupp said. “There’s just been a tremendous amount of progress that’s been done.”
Though improvements are currently being made, students can still expect to see the project in the works when they return for classes at the end of August.
In the the fall, Grupp said, students “will see the exterior of the building almost done. There will be pavement that’s done outside,” although the fence will still be up. “There’s still a few window walls that need to be installed.”
What students won’t see, Grupp said, “is what’s going on inside the building.”
Toro was enthusiastic about the cosmetic improvements students will see, saying that the campus will soon have “beautiful outdoor spaces to socialize, better connectivity through WiFi and upgraded living and academic space.”
Aside from this two-building project, Grupp said, other construction ideas are in the works.
“The Rec Center is in progress, which is due to be done next summer. There’s Barnard Hall which is in the design phase. There’s a lot of projects that are in the design phase that we’re working on,” he said.
One of the other projects currently in the design phase Grupp mentioned is engineering due to the fact that the major is one of the fastest growing on-campus. Grupp said he hopes to begin the project by 2020.
Barnard Hall, however, which houses the School of Education and Professional Studies, will immediately begin renovation after the completion of the Willard-DiLoreto building.
The goal of this multimillion-dollar project, Dr. Toro said, is to bring the departments students need to one central location.
“I expect Willard-DiLoreto will become the heart of our student services. I refer to it as the Student Success Center, because just about every support students need to succeed academically will be located within those buildings,” Toro said.
For now, however, the CCSU family will have to wait those six more months before entering into its new academic home.
DOT: ‘Significant delays’ all week at key Monroe intersection
The state Department of Transportation says that paving of the new roundabout at the intersection of Routes 110 and 111 in Monroe is expected to cause “significant delays” in the area all this week.
Motorists are also “strongly advised” advised to see alternative routes.
The work will begin Monday and is expected to continue through Friday.“Motorists can expect lane closures and alternating one-way traffic on Route 111 between Jeanette Street and Moose Hill Road and on Route 110 between Moose Hill Rd and Route 111. Traffic control personnel and signing patterns will be utilized to guide motorists through the work zone. The regular work schedule for this project is 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Monday through Friday),” DOT said in a release.
The $4.1 million roundabout opened in June. The project began in July 2012 and was initially scheduled to continue until Nov. 2018.
In a roundabout, the cars traveling in the circle have the right-of-way, and those entering the circle have to yield. Britnell said that they’re getting more popular. About five are built in Connecticut, another 20 are planned and 10 more are under consideration, he said.
Scientists, offshore wind developer look to minimize marine life impacts
By Benjamin Kail
Despite lacking ears, oysters respond to noise.
"We don't think of underwater noise as an issue ... but most marine life — if not all marine life — listens to the world around it in one way or another," said Aaron Rice, a researcher at Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology.
As part of the lab's bioacoustics program, Rice's research dives into the sounds animals make, helping scientists pinpoint habitats and behavior patterns. He also examines how human-made sounds impact sea critters, whether oysters slamming their shells shut at the hum of a cargo ship or whales within earshot of a pile driver for an offshore wind turbine foundation.
Rice said he's been encouraged by what he's learned about offshore wind, even with an immense amount of "steel in the water" planned off the shores of the East Coast within the next five to 10 years.
Deepwater Wind, which built and operates the Block Island Wind Farm, plans a 75-turbine wind farm south of Martha's Vineyard that will deliver electricity to Rhode Island and Connecticut by 2023. The company is proposing to help New London State Pier become a hub for offshore wind deployment.
While noise pollution associated with pile driving into the seabed is "not an insignificant noise footprint," Rice said it was "a fairly short noise event," especially compared to geophysical exploration for oil and gas, in which "seismic activity will go on for months and months on end."
Rice added that Deepwater Wind could consider other foundation and turbine types that could lessen the impact of pile driving or eliminate the need to pile drive at all. Trenching a cable from turbines to the shore, and ships required for maintenance and construction also will produce noise that could impact sea life, Rice said.
"A quiet ocean is a good thing," Rice said. "Elevated noise has demonstrated effects to all animals, including people. But wind is not the most severe by any stretch of the imagination."
He described the overall impact of offshore wind on marine life as "a drop in the bucket ... compared to global shipping on which the world depends."
Stephen Boutwell, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said BOEM "is unaware of any harm to marine life as a result of operating a wind facility."
BOEM leases swathes of federal waters to offshore wind developers and researches potential impacts on marine life. The agency has reshaped wind lease areas based on concerns from the commercial fishing industry and conservationists, Boutwell said.
Deepwater Wind says surveys of the site area and sea floor likely will begin this summer. Construction should begin by 2021 after lengthy state and federal permitting processes. The costs of the project have not yet been revealed, and Deepwater Wind and utilities still need to hammer out contracts.
Scientists: no evidence linking turbines to whale strandings
Last June, after a humpback whale carcass was found stranded ashore in Jamestown, R.I., University of Rhode Island researchers called into question some widespread reports that tried to pin the Block Island Wind Farm as the culprit, arguing "it is highly unlikely the whale's death had anything at all to do with a turbine."
Bob Kenney, a URI marine research scientist, and Jim Miller, a URI professor of ocean engineering and oceanography, said the five turbines off Block Island produce about 100 underwater decibels at a range of about 50 meters, "very low and only detectable when ships are not nearby and when the wind is not too strong."
Additionally, the pair noted that noisy pile driving and construction occurred a few years before the whale was stranded in Jamestown, and that "whales themselves are louder than turbines."
The researchers said social calls of humpbacks have measured between 123 and 183 underwater decibels at 1 meter, while scientists have measured fin whale vocalizations near the Block Island Wind Farm at more than 140 underwater decibels at a range of 500 meters.
In an email Sunday, Kenney said nothing had changed his opinion since last year. Offshore wind projects "will all have mitigation plans ... which typically include seasonal restrictions" on construction to protect marine life, he said.
He added that the impact of turbine foundations in the water was not as great as some had feared, "and for some species, sea turtles, some fish, added structure is probably a benefit rather than a negative impact."
"Marine mammals are not following some narrowly defined movement routes along the shore, so it's not like building something in one lane of the highway," he said.
At the time of the humpback's stranding in Jamestown last year, Mendy Garron, the Regional Marine Mammal Stranding Coordinator, told the Block Island Times that, "We don't believe the Wind Farm would have any negative activity on the humpback whales."
Asked about the Jamestown humpback last week, NOAA spokeswoman Jennifer Goebel said, "The report on this whale was that it is a presumed ship strike case based on test results, which are apparently limited."
Professor Ian Boyd, who has researched acoustic disturbance to whales at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, was misquoted by a United Kingdom news outlet seven years ago in what he described to The Day as a "spurious and untrue" article about whale deaths. Several websites since have directly or loosely referenced "research at St. Andrews University" linking turbines to whale deaths.
"I know of no evidence supporting a connect of wind farms to the deaths of whales," Boyd wrote to The Day on Friday. "Frankly, it's really unlikely. The greatest risks occur during construction but even then they are only likely to cause disturbance, be relatively short-lived and vary between species. Many species are pretty robust to disturbance. There are also well developed methods to mitigate these effects."
Deepwater Wind to schedule construction around whale migration season
Ensuring protection of the North Atlantic right whale is a top concern, according to scientists and Deepwater Wind.
Rice noted it was a "highly endangered species hunted nearly to extinction" that was rebuilding for a time but is "slow moving and vulnerable to ship strikes or getting tangled in fishing gear."
Aileen Kenney, Deepwater Wind's senior vice president of development, acknowledged that noise from construction equipment and shipping potentially could disturb whales and other species, making them go into deeper waters or change their movement patterns. Kenney has no relation to the URI scientist.
When building the Block Island Wind Farm, Deepwater Wind complied with BOEM requirements to stop construction if workers spotted certain sea life within specific distances. The company also established agreements with groups such as the Conservation Law Foundation, the National Wildlife Federation and the Natural Resources Defense Counsel to limit impact on right whales.
"We're saying we're not going to do any pile-driving, not any survey activities ... from the November time frame to April or May," Kenney said. "It is a big logistical challenge for us, but it's an important commitment that minimizes impact to the species."
Kenney and several scientists noted that no right whale calves had been born so far in 2018, and NOAA says only about 450 right whales remain in the Atlantic.
NOAA is investigating three separate waves of abnormal fatality totals among three species of whales between 2016 and 2018, including the right whale, minke whale and humpback whale.
Since June 2017, NOAA has investigated 19 dead stranded right whales, 12 of them in Canada and seven in the U.S. In the past two years, 33 minke whales have been found stranded along East Coast beaches, including a dozen in Massachusetts. Since 2016, 76 humpbacks have met the same fate, 20 of them in New England.
The causes of the overall increase in deaths — deemed by NOAA as Unusual Mortality Events for each species — remain undetermined. But many necropsies show evidence of vessel strikes or entanglements in fishing gear, and NOAA said more study is needed.
"Contributing factors to the whale mortalities are still being investigated as part of this ongoing event," NOAA spokeswoman Katherine
“We’re moving along as scheduled. … Much of the work is now focused on the inside of the buildings, CCSU President Zulma Toro said. “The expected move-in will take place early next year, and we can’t wait.”
James Grupp, director of engineering at CCSU, who oversees the construction, said the building will be completed and ready for use by January.
“All the brick is done on the building, the exterior is being buttoned up, sheetrock is going up, and we have some mock-up rooms that are done,” Grupp said. “There’s just been a tremendous amount of progress that’s been done.”
Though improvements are currently being made, students can still expect to see the project in the works when they return for classes at the end of August.
In the the fall, Grupp said, students “will see the exterior of the building almost done. There will be pavement that’s done outside,” although the fence will still be up. “There’s still a few window walls that need to be installed.”
What students won’t see, Grupp said, “is what’s going on inside the building.”
Toro was enthusiastic about the cosmetic improvements students will see, saying that the campus will soon have “beautiful outdoor spaces to socialize, better connectivity through WiFi and upgraded living and academic space.”
Aside from this two-building project, Grupp said, other construction ideas are in the works.
“The Rec Center is in progress, which is due to be done next summer. There’s Barnard Hall which is in the design phase. There’s a lot of projects that are in the design phase that we’re working on,” he said.
One of the other projects currently in the design phase Grupp mentioned is engineering due to the fact that the major is one of the fastest growing on-campus. Grupp said he hopes to begin the project by 2020.
Barnard Hall, however, which houses the School of Education and Professional Studies, will immediately begin renovation after the completion of the Willard-DiLoreto building.
The goal of this multimillion-dollar project, Dr. Toro said, is to bring the departments students need to one central location.
“I expect Willard-DiLoreto will become the heart of our student services. I refer to it as the Student Success Center, because just about every support students need to succeed academically will be located within those buildings,” Toro said.
For now, however, the CCSU family will have to wait those six more months before entering into its new academic home.
DOT: ‘Significant delays’ all week at key Monroe intersection
The state Department of Transportation says that paving of the new roundabout at the intersection of Routes 110 and 111 in Monroe is expected to cause “significant delays” in the area all this week.
Motorists are also “strongly advised” advised to see alternative routes.
The work will begin Monday and is expected to continue through Friday.“Motorists can expect lane closures and alternating one-way traffic on Route 111 between Jeanette Street and Moose Hill Road and on Route 110 between Moose Hill Rd and Route 111. Traffic control personnel and signing patterns will be utilized to guide motorists through the work zone. The regular work schedule for this project is 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Monday through Friday),” DOT said in a release.
The $4.1 million roundabout opened in June. The project began in July 2012 and was initially scheduled to continue until Nov. 2018.
In a roundabout, the cars traveling in the circle have the right-of-way, and those entering the circle have to yield. Britnell said that they’re getting more popular. About five are built in Connecticut, another 20 are planned and 10 more are under consideration, he said.
Scientists, offshore wind developer look to minimize marine life impacts
By Benjamin Kail
Despite lacking ears, oysters respond to noise.
"We don't think of underwater noise as an issue ... but most marine life — if not all marine life — listens to the world around it in one way or another," said Aaron Rice, a researcher at Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology.
As part of the lab's bioacoustics program, Rice's research dives into the sounds animals make, helping scientists pinpoint habitats and behavior patterns. He also examines how human-made sounds impact sea critters, whether oysters slamming their shells shut at the hum of a cargo ship or whales within earshot of a pile driver for an offshore wind turbine foundation.
Rice said he's been encouraged by what he's learned about offshore wind, even with an immense amount of "steel in the water" planned off the shores of the East Coast within the next five to 10 years.
Deepwater Wind, which built and operates the Block Island Wind Farm, plans a 75-turbine wind farm south of Martha's Vineyard that will deliver electricity to Rhode Island and Connecticut by 2023. The company is proposing to help New London State Pier become a hub for offshore wind deployment.
While noise pollution associated with pile driving into the seabed is "not an insignificant noise footprint," Rice said it was "a fairly short noise event," especially compared to geophysical exploration for oil and gas, in which "seismic activity will go on for months and months on end."
Rice added that Deepwater Wind could consider other foundation and turbine types that could lessen the impact of pile driving or eliminate the need to pile drive at all. Trenching a cable from turbines to the shore, and ships required for maintenance and construction also will produce noise that could impact sea life, Rice said.
"A quiet ocean is a good thing," Rice said. "Elevated noise has demonstrated effects to all animals, including people. But wind is not the most severe by any stretch of the imagination."
He described the overall impact of offshore wind on marine life as "a drop in the bucket ... compared to global shipping on which the world depends."
Stephen Boutwell, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said BOEM "is unaware of any harm to marine life as a result of operating a wind facility."
BOEM leases swathes of federal waters to offshore wind developers and researches potential impacts on marine life. The agency has reshaped wind lease areas based on concerns from the commercial fishing industry and conservationists, Boutwell said.
Deepwater Wind says surveys of the site area and sea floor likely will begin this summer. Construction should begin by 2021 after lengthy state and federal permitting processes. The costs of the project have not yet been revealed, and Deepwater Wind and utilities still need to hammer out contracts.
Scientists: no evidence linking turbines to whale strandings
Last June, after a humpback whale carcass was found stranded ashore in Jamestown, R.I., University of Rhode Island researchers called into question some widespread reports that tried to pin the Block Island Wind Farm as the culprit, arguing "it is highly unlikely the whale's death had anything at all to do with a turbine."
Bob Kenney, a URI marine research scientist, and Jim Miller, a URI professor of ocean engineering and oceanography, said the five turbines off Block Island produce about 100 underwater decibels at a range of about 50 meters, "very low and only detectable when ships are not nearby and when the wind is not too strong."
Additionally, the pair noted that noisy pile driving and construction occurred a few years before the whale was stranded in Jamestown, and that "whales themselves are louder than turbines."
The researchers said social calls of humpbacks have measured between 123 and 183 underwater decibels at 1 meter, while scientists have measured fin whale vocalizations near the Block Island Wind Farm at more than 140 underwater decibels at a range of 500 meters.
In an email Sunday, Kenney said nothing had changed his opinion since last year. Offshore wind projects "will all have mitigation plans ... which typically include seasonal restrictions" on construction to protect marine life, he said.
He added that the impact of turbine foundations in the water was not as great as some had feared, "and for some species, sea turtles, some fish, added structure is probably a benefit rather than a negative impact."
"Marine mammals are not following some narrowly defined movement routes along the shore, so it's not like building something in one lane of the highway," he said.
At the time of the humpback's stranding in Jamestown last year, Mendy Garron, the Regional Marine Mammal Stranding Coordinator, told the Block Island Times that, "We don't believe the Wind Farm would have any negative activity on the humpback whales."
Asked about the Jamestown humpback last week, NOAA spokeswoman Jennifer Goebel said, "The report on this whale was that it is a presumed ship strike case based on test results, which are apparently limited."
Professor Ian Boyd, who has researched acoustic disturbance to whales at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, was misquoted by a United Kingdom news outlet seven years ago in what he described to The Day as a "spurious and untrue" article about whale deaths. Several websites since have directly or loosely referenced "research at St. Andrews University" linking turbines to whale deaths.
"I know of no evidence supporting a connect of wind farms to the deaths of whales," Boyd wrote to The Day on Friday. "Frankly, it's really unlikely. The greatest risks occur during construction but even then they are only likely to cause disturbance, be relatively short-lived and vary between species. Many species are pretty robust to disturbance. There are also well developed methods to mitigate these effects."
Deepwater Wind to schedule construction around whale migration season
Ensuring protection of the North Atlantic right whale is a top concern, according to scientists and Deepwater Wind.
Rice noted it was a "highly endangered species hunted nearly to extinction" that was rebuilding for a time but is "slow moving and vulnerable to ship strikes or getting tangled in fishing gear."
Aileen Kenney, Deepwater Wind's senior vice president of development, acknowledged that noise from construction equipment and shipping potentially could disturb whales and other species, making them go into deeper waters or change their movement patterns. Kenney has no relation to the URI scientist.
When building the Block Island Wind Farm, Deepwater Wind complied with BOEM requirements to stop construction if workers spotted certain sea life within specific distances. The company also established agreements with groups such as the Conservation Law Foundation, the National Wildlife Federation and the Natural Resources Defense Counsel to limit impact on right whales.
"We're saying we're not going to do any pile-driving, not any survey activities ... from the November time frame to April or May," Kenney said. "It is a big logistical challenge for us, but it's an important commitment that minimizes impact to the species."
Kenney and several scientists noted that no right whale calves had been born so far in 2018, and NOAA says only about 450 right whales remain in the Atlantic.
NOAA is investigating three separate waves of abnormal fatality totals among three species of whales between 2016 and 2018, including the right whale, minke whale and humpback whale.
Since June 2017, NOAA has investigated 19 dead stranded right whales, 12 of them in Canada and seven in the U.S. In the past two years, 33 minke whales have been found stranded along East Coast beaches, including a dozen in Massachusetts. Since 2016, 76 humpbacks have met the same fate, 20 of them in New England.
The causes of the overall increase in deaths — deemed by NOAA as Unusual Mortality Events for each species — remain undetermined. But many necropsies show evidence of vessel strikes or entanglements in fishing gear, and NOAA said more study is needed.
"Contributing factors to the whale mortalities are still being investigated as part of this ongoing event," NOAA spokeswoman Katherine