Wind Energy Areas Offshore Oregon Have 17 Gigawatts Potential: BOEM

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has identified three potential wind energy areas off the coast of Oregon that would span almost 1.4 million acres and have the potential to host around 17 gigawatts of wind capacity. The agency is now focusing on the areas with the highest potential for commercial offshore wind energy viability to support 3 gigawatts for near-term development, according to a presentation released ahead of the agency’s Feb. 25 meeting of the Oregon Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force.

The largest and northernmost of the three potential areas, Coos Bay, covers around over 60 percent of the area and could hold up to 10,600 megawatts on its own. The remaining two, Bandon and Brookings, are smaller, with the potential for 2,900 megawatts and 3,500 megawatts respectively.

Regulators are still early in the process, and plan to issue a call for information, with a 45-day comment period during which the agency will seek public and industry feedback to gauge interest in project development in March or April. After that window closes, the agency will begin to officially identify potential leases, continuing to work with state officials and other affected parties.

President Joe Biden’s administration has set a goal of adding 30 gigawatts of offshore wind in U.S. waters by 2030. Despite California, Oregon, and Washington each targeting 100 percent clean energy by 2045 at the latest, the west coast states have made little progress with offshore wind relative to their east coast counterparts. Because of deeper waters, projects along the west coast call for floating turbine technology, which is less developed and costlier than the fixed-foundation turbines used by wind farms currently under development off the northeast and mid-Atlantic coasts.

Oregon last year enacted a law that requires the state Department of Energy to develop a plan for bringing up to 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind to the state’s grid by 2030. The department must report its key findings to the Oregon legislature by Sept. 15.