The kickoff to the years-long process of creating an 鈥渙ffshore wind energy roadmap鈥� for Oregon comes in the wake of a federal pause on efforts to advance offshore wind projects at two sites near Brookings and Coos Bay following opposition from coastal communities, tribes and the fishing industry and a call from Gov. Tina Kotek for the federal government to pause its plans and include more state participation in the project.
The roadmap, part of, which passed this year, is meant to lay the foundation for offshore wind energy development that complies with labor standards and includes community input. The Department of Land Conservation and Development will host a virtual meeting Nov. 1, with a mid-November meeting in Florence. Details about the Florence meeting will be shared at the Nov. 1 meeting, according to a department news release. Meetings will likely happen once a month until June 2025, when the department must present the roadmap to the state Legislature.
Two sites previously proposed by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy for developing offshore wind cover 61,200 acres off the coast of Coos Bay and nearly 134,000 acres off the coast of Brookings. The Coos Bay site is 30 miles from the coast and the Brookings area is 20 miles away. Combined, they could potentially generate more than 3.1 gigawatts of renewable energy, enough to power 1 million households.
But last month, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management its October auction for the sites amid mounting opposition from the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, residents in several coastal communities and representatives of the commercial fishing industry. Several companies that had previously signaled interest in participating backed out, leaving just one Oregon-based company willing to bid on a lease.
Officials from the tribes are concerned the installations would obstruct culturally significant views and potentially harm marine animals and ecosystems. Similarly, representatives from the fishing industry feared they would impede on their fishing areas and disturb marine ecosystems.
The federal ocean energy bureau said it would continue work with state, local and tribal officials on issues around offshore wind and coordinate potential leases with local communities, but it did not give a timeline for what might happen next.
In 2021, the Oregon Legislature set a goal of powering 1 million homes with offshore wind by 2030, but that appears certain to go unmet.
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