Past efforts to build floating turbines have drawn opposition from tribes and the fishing industry. Wyden, Merkley denounce the plan as rushed.
Five companies are eligible to bid in an auction to generate the first offshore wind power in Oregon’s history. But elected leaders say local opponents were steamrolled by federal officials.
The names of the chosen companies were listed in a final sale notice first reported last week by the Oregonian. The auction is part of the Biden administration’s aggressive push to develop offshore wind energy on both coasts. The newspaper found the selected companies include major players in green power around the world and relative unknowns.
The online auction will be held over one to two days in mid-October. The winning bidder will be eligible to build floating wind turbines on two offshore areas totaling around 195,000 acres. The so-called Coos Bay lease area totals around 61,000 acres 32 miles from shore at Charleston. The Brookings lease area of around 133,000 acres is located 18 miles from shore at Gold Beach.
For years, the development of offshore wind infrastructure has drawn opposition from coastal communities, tribes and the state’s fishing industry. Residents of two coastal counties will vote in November whether local leaders should oppose the project.
In an August letter to the director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, members of Oregon’s Congressional delegation including Democratic senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, called for more time and public hearings to hear concerns.
“It is critical that BOEM develops a deep appreciation of all community interests and fully studies every opportunity to reduce conflict with all ocean users before making substantial development decisions,” reads the letter.
Upon the release of the final sale notice, Wyden and Merkley denounced the plan.
“By rushing this leasing process, BOEM’s actions undermine state-led efforts to build the necessary consensus among coastal communities, fishermen, conservation groups, and Tribes,” wrote Merkley.
Wrote Wyden in a separate statement: “Oregonians living and working on the Coast expect far better from federal agencies than to get steamrolled from 3,000 miles away on decisions directly affecting their livelihoods. I will pull out all the stops to make sure that Oregonians’ legitimate concerns about this hasty decision and the run-up to it receive complete and acceptable responses before any project goes forward.”
RELATED: Oregon Coast Community Leaders Call for Collaboration with Offshore Wind Developers
It will be the second offshore wind auction on the West Coast. California held an auction in December 2022 which featured 40 qualified companies and five offshore wind leases. Those projects remain in development. Six commercial-scale offshore wind energy projects have been approved by the Department of the Interior. All of them are located on the East Coast.
The Biden administration considers offshore wind critical to the transition to clean energy. Federal officials plan to develop 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind generation capacity by 2035 and 30 gigawatts of fixed offshore wind energy capacity by 2030. The fixed type of offshore turbines are secured to the ocean floor and are considered more suitable for shallow water. The floating variety can be installed farther offshore where winds are typically stronger.
According to the Oregonian, bidders must submit additional paperwork by the middle of this month as well as a $2 million deposit. Winning bidders will have five years to submit plans for construction and operations of offshore wind turbines. Those plans would be subject to technical, environmental and public review.
The eligible companies are California-based Avangrid Renewables, BlueFloat Energy, Madrid-based Ocean Winds, Mainstream Renewable Power and South Coast Energy.
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