OFFSHORE WIND

How we won the 350NH offshore wind campaign:

To start the process of developing offshore wind energy in NH, the Governor had to request a joint task force from the federal government. In 2016 350NH organized community support, connected with elected officials and delivered hundreds of petitions, but Maggie Hassan failed to act before leaving the Governor’s office.

When Chris Sununu became Governor, we doubled down our efforts and passed warrant articles in more than 20 towns across the state calling for the Governor Sununu to request a offshore wind taskforce from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. In 2019, we caught Sununu on NHPR’s “the Exchange” and got a verbal commitment to request the offshore wind task force. We followed up with public pressure and forced Sununu to keep his word.

The official process began in 2020 with the first meeting of the federal and state joint task force on offshore wind. We can stop the climate crisis and create thousands of good paying jobs by building offshore wind energy and there is enough wind capacity off the coast of New Hampshire to generate 2,600 MW of energy (enough to supply the entire state).

Here’s why offshore wind is good for New Hampshire!

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped us win this campaign.

We stopped the Granite Bridge Pipeline

350NH ran a fierce grassroots campaign to stop the proposed 27 mile Granite Bridge fracked gas pipeline and we won!. We hosted information sessions, trained volunteers, canvassed, passed local ordinances, organized climate strikes, and pressured elected officials to oppose the pipeline until the project was finally defeated in July 2020.

Liberty Utilities’ Granite Bridge fracked gas pipeline threatened the health and safety of our communities. It would have cost New Hampshire ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars and contributed to billions of dollars in damages caused by catastrophic climate change.

From day one, the Granite Bridge was about making money for Liberty Utilities, and not about meeting the needs of Granite Staters. Liberty Utilities wasted 9 million dollars on the failed project and immediately tried to pass that cost on to ratepayers. In 2023, the New Hampshire Supreme Court denied Liberty Utilities request to recoup 7.5 million of development costs through rate payer hikes. New Hampshire does not need any more gas pipelines to meet our energy needs, and we will fight any new pipeline proposals that arise.

FAQs

NH spends billions of dollars buying dirty energy from out of state. Development of offshore wind could move New England away from our overreliance of fracked methane gas. The offshore wind industry would bring thousands of green jobs to NH, strengthening our local economy. Building offshore wind energy is key to stopping the climate crisis and will lead to halting the climate change impacts already hitting our state like sea level rise and extreme seasonal changes.. Wind turbines will be far enough from the coast that they won't impact views. (And wouldn't you rather see a windmill than a smokestack?)
Wind turbines are considered safe. The turbines are on floating platforms that are anchored to moorings. They are designed to withstand waves, severe storms, hurricane-force winds and even ice flows. They have lightning protection systems and are equipped with navigation and aviation warning lights. The Offshore Wind Task Force is working with fishers to avoid specific fishing spots so as to not interfere with the fishing industry. Unlike fracked gas pipelines, wind turbines won't cause massive explosions or leak methane into the air.
Commercial fishing crews are working with researchers at the new Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island to study the impacts on fishing. Initial data suggests that there can be different species of fish located under different towers. Those in the fishing industry of RI are pleased to be working directly with researchers.
2015: We delivered over 1000 petitions to then-governor Hassan. She failed to act before she left office so we shifted our attention to Governor Sununu.
2016: on the campaign trail, we asked Chris Sununu if he would support offshore wind. He said if there was community support he would not oppose it.
2017: 350NH set out to educate the NH community about offshore wind, and to show definitive community support by passing warrant articles and resolutions around the state and working with businesses to send letters to the governor.
March 2018: 350NH passed 21 resolutions and warrant articles in towns and cities around the state urging the governor to request a task force from the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management to start the process of bringing offshore wind to New Hampshire.
April 2018: On earth day over 100 people gathered at the capital to deliver letters from towns, businesses, and legislators to the governor.
December 2018: Governor Sununu officially requested the intergovernmental task force from the Federal Government which is the only way to move forward with building offshore wind on our coast.
Economic: The Granite Bridge would have cost New Hampshire Ratepayers $440 million dollars which includes a 9% to 10% return for Liberty Utilities’ investors. It would have been a waste of money and increased our reliance on imported fuels.
Health: Pipelines leak and explode, threatening the health and safety of our communities and our natural environment. The Granite Bridge pipeline would have passed under the Lamprey River multiple times.
Climate: "Natural gas" is primarily methane and it comes from fracking. Methane gas causes climate change at over 80 times the rate of carbon dioxide. Building the Granite Bridge would have locked us into burning fracked methane gas for decades to come.
Energy democracy: We believe that local communities have a right to be part of the decisions about their energy future. The regulatory decision making process for the Granite Bridge intentionally excluded individual towns and residents.
Safety: Liberty Utilities has an atrocious safety record. They have already been fined tens of thousands of dollars for safety and maintenance violations in New Hampshire.
“Natural Gas” is methane and the majority is sourced from the fracking fields of the Appalachian basin. Methane gas is not “Clean” and it is not a “Bridge Fuel”. Methane gas contributes to the Greenhouse gas effect (climate change) at over 80 times the rate of Carbon Dioxide. We have the affordable renewable technology that we need.
No. Pipelines are not currently running at capacity and therefore can easily meet our energy demands. We have better, cheaper, cleaner options. The gas in the proposed pipeline was not even being guaranteed to communities along the pipeline route because the cost to run individual gas lines to houses is prohibitive and these communities have other utility providers. This line about being cold in the winter is propaganda and fear mongering from the oil and gas industry.
Towns and abutters are not given a formal say in the decision making process. The decision about Granite Bridge is made by the Public Utility Commission (PUC) and the Site Evaluation Committee (SEC), who are appointed by the Governor. These agencies are not evil, but they are antiquated and designed to favor corporate fossil fuel interests over human health and safety.
Liberty Utilities submitted the project to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in December 2017 and a decision was expected in early 2019, but the project stalled due to public opposition. If the project had moved forward, it would have gone on to the Site Evaluation Committee (SEC) for review, a process that would take up to an additional year. The PUC conducts an investigation to determine 1) If the project is actually needed to meet demand and 2) If this is the best cost option to meet the demand. The SEC examines 1) If Liberty Utilities has the financial, technical, and managerial capability to construct and operate the facilities and 2) If the project will have an adverse effect on aesthetics, historic sites, air and water quality, the natural environment and public health and safety.