The Southern Oregon coast is closer to hosting floating offshore wind energy, after the Biden administration announced it鈥檚 preparing to accept proposals for the area. This is the first step in a multiyear process before any wind developer could begin construction.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Interior鈥檚 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, proposed an in two locations off the coast of Southern Oregon. The announcement kicks off 鈥� on the areas that would be developed, and on the federal government鈥檚 draft environmental assessment.
Ocean areas approved for wind energy development off the coast of Coos Bay and Brookings,, total nearly 195,000 acres. There, offshore wind could have the potential to power more than one million homes with renewable energy, according to the federal agency.
But the federal push to advance offshore wind has also prompted concerns from tribal leaders and commercial fishing groups about impacts on the marine environment, and broader concerns along the Southern Oregon coast at the speed of federal action before a state effort to guide offshore wind is in place. Federal officials said development will take years, and there will be time to incorporate Oregon鈥檚 roadmap, as long as the state meets its own deadlines.
BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein said the agency will work with government partners and stakeholders.
鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to unveil these proposed sales and emphasize our commitment to exploring the potential for offshore wind development from coast to coast,鈥� Klein said in a release.
BOEM is also seeking feedback about several of its drafted lease stipulations, including requirements that offshore wind developers make commitments to union jobs and workforce training, that they engage with impacted communities like tribes and the fishing industry, and that they create a community benefits agreement.
The details of the proposed auction and the will be published in the Federal Register Wednesday.
Floating offshore wind could potentially help Oregon reach its goal for electric utilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with electricity they provide by 100% by 2040. But the prospect of the new technology has, as well as. The governor and affected communities have asked for more transparency and engagement from the federal government, which has so far shared limited information about environmental impacts.
That pushback was a factor in the passage of state , which requires Oregon to develop a roadmap, drawing on engagement with impacted communities and tribes, to define standards for offshore wind energy.
A group that included environmentalists, climate advocates, fishing industry representatives, labor unions and city officials helped draft the legislation, which state lawmakers passed in March.
That informal group, working through the facilitator, has provided Kotek with recommendations for creating an floating offshore wind energy roadmap. Recommendations include protecting the environment, culturally significant viewsheds and resources important to tribes, and supporting local communities and the fishing industry.
Kotek said the roadmap will be a critical tool to ensure the state is prepared to assess and coordinate offshore wind opportunities with the federal government, 鈥渨hile also ensuring that local communities are at the forefront of economic, workforce, and supply chain development opportunities,鈥� she said in a statement. 鈥淚 look forward to reviewing the recommendations from the work group.鈥�
Nicole Hughes is the executive director of Renewable Northwest, and was part of the informal group. She said the most important part of getting so many voices from diverse interests together on this issue was to begin to understand the different concerns from each group as well as build relationships with each other to figure out solutions.
鈥淲e know we did not get all the issues, we know there鈥檚 things that were left out of consideration, we know that not every Oregonian is going to be able to see themselves in the outline that we wrote,鈥� Hughes said. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e hopeful that the work we did just sets the state agencies up for better success in the actual development of this road map, which we hope and are pushing for a much broader formal stakeholder process than we were able to accommodate in our informal working group.鈥�
She said the group spent about nine months working on the recommendations that also includes 鈥渆xit ramps,鈥� or checks and balances on how a project should move forward and when to reevaluate or pause a project.
鈥淪ome of the ways that those can come up, you know, a new environmental situation that hadn鈥檛 been identified before, a new economic situation that hasn鈥檛 been identified before,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hese are all things that might cause us to rethink the viability of offshore wind or make us go out and do more research to get more answers to questions that hadn鈥檛 yet been posed.鈥�
The Oregon offshore wind energy roadmap is set to be completed by fall 2025.
BOEM鈥檚 Klein reiterated the federal agency鈥檚 commitment to working with Oregon鈥檚 roadmap in a. The federal government expects a sale of the proposed areas is expected to occur in October, she said, and that would likely have an effective date of Jan. 1, 2025.
鈥淎 lease does not authorize the construction of projects,鈥� she said in the letter.
Once a developer is chosen, they will have up to five years to submit a project proposal, which will undergo an environmental review before final approval. That review, Klein said, could take at least four years to reach completion.
鈥淭herefore, if the state adheres to the current planned roadmap timeline, the roadmap report and resulting formal policy amendments should be completed well before any [Construction and Operations Plan] decisions are made,鈥� she said.
But news of BOEM鈥檚 proposed sale lease announcement on Tuesday left people from the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians and some from the fishing industry saying they are disappointed.
Tribal Council Chair Brad Kneaper said the federal agency should delay moving forward until more research is available to understand environmental and cultural impacts to the tribes and the fishing industry. He also said offshore wind leasing should wait until the Oregon Roadmap is complete.
鈥淣o one, including BOEM, has an understanding on how wind development will impact the fragile marine environment,鈥� Tribal Council Chair Brad Kneaper said. 鈥淐ommercial fishing interests separately requested such a delay. This only makes sense because the roadmap may be a futile effort without a commitment from BOEM to actually consider the recommendations of the Tribe, the State, and coastal stakeholders.鈥�
鈥檚 website about Oregon wind energy, 鈥渢he environmental impacts of any proposed wind energy projects will be assessed after a lease is issued and before BOEM decides whether or not to approve any lessee鈥檚 project construction and operations plan.鈥�
Heather Mann, who is the executive director of Midwater Trawlers Cooperative and worked on creating and collaborating with the informal group, said BOEM is rushing the process. She is also considering switching her views to oppose offshore wind.
鈥淏OEM does not care about the Oregon Roadmap process, instead they are rushing to meet a political and electoral deadline,鈥� she said in a statement. 鈥淛ust because BOEM claims they worked collaboratively with stakeholders doesn鈥檛 make it true.
Mann said BOEM鈥檚 announcement is undermining the work the informal group has done to work with different interests and to provide recommendations on how to move forward.
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