The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Tuesday selected two draft wind energy areas (WEAs) off the coast of southern and central Oregon, opening a 60-day review-and-comment period.
The WEAs comprise about 220,000 acres in the Coos Bay and Brookings call areas that BOEM outlined in February 2022. The bureau has yet to identify a WEA in the third call area off the coast of Bandon, Ore.
Together, the three large call areas could support up to 17 GW of generating capacity, but BOEM said last year it intends to consider 3 GW for near-term commercial development.
The draft WEAs further the Biden administration’s goal of deploying 15 GW of floating offshore wind in deep waters by 2035, BOEM said.
“As BOEM works to identify potential areas for offshore wind development, we continue to prioritize a robust and transparent process, including ongoing engagement with tribal governments, agency partners, the fishing community and other ocean users,” BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein said in a statement Tuesday.
“At the request of Oregon’s governor and other state officials, there will be a 60-day public comment period on the draft WEAs, and BOEM will hold an intergovernmental task force meeting in addition to public meetings during the comment period,” Klein said. “We look forward to working with the state to help us finalize offshore areas that have strong resource potential and the fewest environmental and user conflicts.”
The Oregon WEAs are the latest developments in the emerging market for West Coast offshore wind.
BOEM held the first West Coast wind auction on Dec. 7, 2022, when five lease areas off the California coast, with 4.5 GW of total capacity, brought more than $757 million in winning bids. (See First West Coast Offshore Wind Auction Fetches $757M.) Three of the lease areas are in Morro Bay off the coast of Central California, and two are in Humboldt Bay off Northern California.
The auctions were held after a multiyear process like that now playing out in Oregon. In California, BOEM identified large call areas, then selected WEAs within the call areas and eventually auctioned parcels to developers.
Oregon’s Brookings Call Area sits about 60 miles north of the Humboldt WEA, raising the possibility of collaboration between West Coast states on developing port infrastructure and a supply chain that takes advantage of economies of scale.
BOEM has yet to identify any call areas off the coast of Washington state.