"Five offshore wind developers released a joint plan this morning to coordinate turbine placement in the shallow waters off New England, in a bid to ease fishermen's concerns and win over federal regulators.

Turbine siting has emerged as one of the key sticking points as offshore wind developers move to install steel towers in the ocean. Fishermen and other mariners have raised concerns about the orientation of the towers, as well as the distance between them.

The coordinated announcement reflects the growing recognition in the wind industry of the challenges of the federal permitting process. The Interior Department delayed the nation's first major wind farm, Vineyard Wind, this summer amid mounting concerns from fishermen about its impact on their business. At an industry conference in Boston last month, the CEOs of the leading developers pledged to increase their coordination around federal permitting, which they identified as a shared challenge."

Benjamin Storrow reports for ClimateWire November 19, 2019. [2]