| Our letter follows one from a coalition of independent fishing boat operators, seafood companies and industry groups calling on Governor Kotek to ask the federal government to stop a planned auction for floating wind energy projects off the Oregon Coast. The more than 100 signatories said she should stop the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management from moving forward with its plan to auction offshore wind site leases until the state has finalized its own Roadmap for offshore wind development.
“Offshore floating wind energy does not currently exist anywhere in the world in waters deeper than 300 meters or at the scale being contemplated for the West Coast,” the letter said. “In addition to the roadmap, Oregon would benefit significantly by learning from projects that are already moving forward, such as those on the East Coast and in California.”
Five Oregon and California tribes also oppose the federal wind power plan. In November, the Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians passed a resolution opposing offshore wind energy development, in part because federal officials had failed to respond to their concerns.
The two wind energy areas being considered for development off Oregon’s Coast would add 2.4 gigawatts of clean power – enough to power about 830,000 homes – with installations covering more than 195,000 acres in total. One site, near Coos Bay, would span about 61,200 acres and be located more than 30 miles from shore, while the other site, near Brookings, would cover about 133,808 acres and float about 20 miles from shore.
The agency recently denied a request by Oregon’s congressional members to extend a 30-day public comment period on the planning and the environmental assessment that needs to take place this summer.
As the wind energy projects evolve, our energy needs are evolving as well.
Hydropower generated for electricity from Oregon and Washington dams fell to historically low levels last year, and experts expect it could drop further by year’s end. Officials at the U.S. Energy Information Administration recently published data showing that hydropower generation in the Northwest between Oct. 1, 2022 and Sept. 30, 2023 dropped to a 22-year low.
Both Oregon and Washington generated 20% less hydropower in 2023 than in 2021. The agency attributed this to low precipitation in the fall and winter, and the May 2023 “heat dome” that drove regional temperatures up 30 degrees Fahrenheit above average and rapidly melted snowpack in the region, which traditionally feeds rivers and streams steadily throughout the summer.
More frequent periods of drought, high temperatures and heavy rains could further influence hydropower production in the future.
These drops in power production come during a period of historically high electricity demand that is expected to grow as transportation, manufacturing and home energy move away from fossil fuels and increasingly become electrified.
The industry trade group Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee projects demand for electricity in the region will rise 25% within the next decade. |
