NEWS UPDATE FROM STATE REPRESENTATIVE DAVID GOMBERG: Offshore Wind in Scotland

Our newsletter this week is being sent on Tuesday. Monday we observed Labor Day. We honor working people every day and this day in particular.
Here are just a few examples of legislation the Oregon Legislature has passed in support of workers:

Paid Family Medical Leave: HB 2005 (2019) provides every Oregon worker 12 weeks of paid leave to welcome a new child, to recover from a serious illness, or to care for a loved one recovering from a serious illness. Read more about the bill.
Farmworker Overtime: HB 4002 (2022) ensures farmworkers receive overtime pay, following eight decades of being excluded from these basic workplace protections. Today, 75% of farmworkers in Oregon are Latine. Read more about the bill.
Prevailing Wage: SB 493 (2021) codifies stronger wages and benefits for workers on publicly funded construction projects. Read more about the bill.
Paid Sick Leave: SB 454 (2015) grants workers protected leave and to keep workers from choosing between their health and well-being and an income to pay rent or provide for their families. Read more about the bill.
Minimum Wage Increases: SB 1532 (2016) institutes a series of gradual minimum wage increases through 2022 which vary across three regions of Oregon. Beginning in 2023, minimum wages in all tiers will be adjusted for inflation. Read more about the bill.
Modernizing Workers’ Compensation Benefits: HB 4086 (2022) modernizes outdated language that excludes some Oregonians from workers’ compensation benefits, ensures Oregon families have access to benefits and protects workers against retaliation. Read more about the bill.
Fair Workweek Law: SB 828 (2017) requires large employers to provide more notice and predictability of work schedules. Read more about the bill.
Warehouse Worker Protection Act: House Bill 4127 (2024) prohibits adverse actions against employees for failing to meet their quotas unless those criteria are clearly written out in advance, empowering workers to advocate for their rights, and challenging unfair treatment. Read coverage from OPB about the bill.

Last week I presented Part 1 on our trip to Scotland and our work to better understand their experience with floating offshore wind. Seeing what they are doing there will help us better understand the prospects and consequences for development off the coast of southern Oregon. Here is some further information on what we saw and what we learned.

I told you my district is not close to the lease areas proposed by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), but we are home to the largest fishing fleet that works those waters. Our influence is limited since the sites are not in Oregon but rather in federal waters off our coast. We’re not even sure the power produced will come here! We need good clean jobs on the southern coast. I wanted to learn how such developments would affect our ecology and our economy. And it was important to me that our coastal communities, our Tribes, our industries, and our people be involved in these decisions critical to our collective future.

The delegation from Oregon visited Scotland the week of August 19-23. The group included representatives from the state legislature, state agencies, labor unions, renewable energy, fishermen, and economic development groups. Interests included Tribes, conservation, and marine science.

Wind power is stronger in the ocean than on land, which has led to the development of offshore wind in recent years. Until recently, because they were based on fixed structures, turbines could not be installed in very deep or complex seabed locations. The advent of floating structures has changed that. Wind turbines can now be installed on these platforms, which are anchored to the seabed with flexible anchors, chains or steel cables.

The purpose of the Study Tour was to learn about issues and processes related to floating offshore wind development, construction and operations, environmental and social impacts, as well as issues related to supply chain, workforce development, and economic impacts. The tour included visits to the Kincardine floating offshore wind project as well as the Ports of Aberdeen and Montrose. Meetings were also held with the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, Global Underwater Hub, Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, and a handful of consultants, manufacturers, and supply chain companies involved in the development, construction, and operation of offshore wind in Scotland.

The Scottish experience with offshore oil and gas dates back to the 1970s and positioned the region to transition to floating offshore wind that uses similar technology, expertise, and portside infrastructure. Tour participants dug into the similarities and differences between the Scottish experience and Oregon’s early considerations of offshore wind energy.

Two fishermen from Oregon, Nick Edwards and Brad Pettinger said, “The recent trip to Scotland showed that Oregon’s precautionary approach in sighting offshore wind is warranted. The Scottish Fisherman‘s Federation said it would lose 50% of their traditional fishing grounds if the currently leased areas in Scotland were fully developed. We learned from some Scottish companies that siting offshore wind outside of 1,300 meters is feasible. Siting at those depths in Oregon would solve some of the concerns for Oregon’s unique ecosystem, and its natural resources.”

It is estimated that the OSW industry in Scotland currently supports 10,000 jobs. “The development of floating offshore wind presents an historic opportunity to transform Oregon’s economy and create thousands of family-sustaining union jobs in clean energy and the supply chain. This trip reinforced that this industry must be steered in a way that centers working people and the local communities it touches,” said Graham Trainor, President of the Oregon AFL-CIO, the statewide federation of labor unions.

“Scotland is doing interesting research on the ecological impacts of floating offshore wind. Marine ecosystems are inherently complex, and studies are underway to look at factors such as mixing within the water column, impacts to birds and mammals, plankton productivity, and cumulative impacts. They are tackling many of the same questions we have here in Oregon,” said Jena Carter, the Oregon Coast and Marine Director for The Nature Conservancy.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is the federal agency responsible for leasing lands on the outer continental shelf. BOEM issued a final sale notice on August 30, which triggers an offshore wind lease auction, set to take place on October 15, 2024. A lease authorized would give a developer, or developers, the right to evaluate the feasibility of developing a floating offshore wind project or projects in those designated areas off the Oregon coast in waters managed by the federal government. The Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) is the state agency charged with conducting the state’s federal consistency review for any offshore wind proposals. DLCD was also directed to develop an Offshore Wind Roadmap by HB4080.

Here are a few other observations from our Study Tour:

It is important to understand that decisions are being made today that will result in development a decade from now. Through our discussions with various industry specialists, it became clear that the planning and implementation of offshore wind projects will take some time. In Scotland, after leasing, there were approximately five years of planning required to get the projects off the ground, while construction took another five years. BOEM plans to sell leases for offshore wind projects in October. However, we can anticipate a window of approximately 10-15 years to the completion of these projects.
Oregon is considering sites further from land and in much deeper water than used anywhere else in the world. This presents many challenges. No one is an expert in floating offshore wind. It is all quite new. But experience in floating oil technology can be applied.
Floating offshore wind development is still a very young industry – and it follows an already ambitious and well-developed use of onshore wind energy and fixed-bottom offshore wind energy development. Challenges associated with floating OSW development are driven by the size of the new devices, the challenges of working in deep waters, and the onshore infrastructure to support the development and maintenance of the systems.
In 2017 the Port of Aberdeen began construction on a new terminal to accommodate the growing OSW industry. During construction, there were more than 300 new jobs created and over 30 companies from around Scotland were involved. The Port anticipates once its South Harbour is fully functional, the Port’s annual revenue will increase by 60% and the number of jobs will increase by 45%.
The fishing industry voiced serious concerns about the substantial loss of fishing grounds in the next rounds of development. Resource impacts associated with offshore arrays differed depending upon the species. They suggest early engagement during project planning.
Anecdotal information from recent fishing activity suggests impacts associated with cabling. Those impacts were mostly on shellfish species. Fishermen were concerned that the changes may be associated with the increase in the number of cables or power coming to shore, highlighting the need for study of this issue
More concerning were large climatic shifts in the region that indicated a weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) – a system of ocean currents that circulate water throughout the Atlantic Ocean, carrying warm water north and cold water south. These changes are associated with climate change – not the development of OSW.

Two future floating wind energy sites have been designated off the Southern Oregon Coast. More than 20 fixed and floating sites are now planned or operational off Scotland.

Legislators get all kinds of information. Here is a good example.

According to the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Oregon is home to at least 500 species of spiders. Over a dozen of them are commonly found in and around your home. And one of those is possibly the largest spider in the Pacific Northwest – the giant house spider.

You’re most likely to see the giant house spider (Eratigena duellica) between July and September, when males are commonly found lurking in homes in search of a mate. They like corners in dark, damp areas such as closets, storage areas, and basements. The spiders are most prevalent in garages and sheds.

These creatures measure up to 4.7 inches from leg tip to leg tip, about the size of the palm of your hand. Females have larger bodies while males have longer legs. The good news? Their bite is harmless to humans and pets and unlikely to ever happen.

Here are some additional good-to-know Oregon spider facts:

If you release any type of house spider outside, it probably won’t survive. House spiders have evolved to live in homes.
Experts consider giant house spiders beneficial organisms that should be left alone as much as reasonably possible. (Not in my house!!)
If you find a spider in your sink or tub it didn’t come from the drain. They come down the walls seeking water.
If your house has spiders then your house has other insects, which is what draws spiders into your home.
The brown recluse, a fairly well-known venomous spider that occasionally bites people, does not live in Oregon, despite reports to the contrary. Black widows do live in Oregon.