Abstract
The offshore wind industry in the U.S. is growing rapidly. Off the coast of New England, the South Fork Wind wind farm is fully constructed and the Vineyard Wind 1 wind farm is currently under construction. Revolution Wind, the first utility-scale wind farm serving Rhode Island and Connecticut, will begin offshore construction this year. Several other projects off the New England coast are in various stages of the permitting process. Fishers, however, have raised concerns about the impact offshore wind farms will have on the fishing industry. These concerns include worries that wind farms will displace fishers from fishing grounds and harm fish habitat. Due to these concerns, some offshore wind developers have agreed to establish various funds to compensate fishers for the impacts of offshore wind and generally support the coexistence of these two industries. In Connecticut, lawmakers have shown interest in using these funds to address impacts to fisheries; a bill has been introduced in the Connecticut General Assembly that would require developers of offshore wind projects that will supply Connecticut customers with electricity to establish funds that would provide compensation if the project damages fisheries or the environment or if the project creates fewer jobs than the developer promised.
This report will examine the fisheries compensation funds that developers have agreed to establish, issues related to enforcing these commitments, and potential alternative models for compensating fishers for the impacts of offshore wind. Section 2 will provide an overview of the funds that have been established by developers to date. Section 3 will examine issues related to enforcing developers’ commitments to establish these funds. Finally, section 4 will present potential alternative ways to structure compensation for fishers from offshore wind developers.