COOS BAY, Oregon —
The likelihood of seeing offshore wind energy in Oregon anytime got a little more remote Friday after federal officials postponed an upcoming auction for wind energy areas off the coast.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, known as BOEM, said the auction planned for Oct. 15 would be postponed with no new date for when a sale might occur. In a press release, the agency said the postponement was “due to insufficient bidder interest at this time.”
Originally, five developers were thought to be interested in bidding on the wind energy areas: one off Coos Bay and the other near Brookings. Earlier this week, all but one of the developers dropped out of the running, according to The Oregonian.
That comes after years of staunch opposition from folks on the coast, including fishing industry groups, environmental advocates and coastal tribes, some of whom filed a lawsuit against BOEM earlier this month.
On Friday, Gov. Tina Kotek sent a letter to BOEM, saying she was pulling Oregon from the BOEM Oregon Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force and asking the agency to halt the sale.
Kotek said the whole process seemed rushed.
“I am disappointed that BOEM’s accelerated process over the last year has further divided stakeholder communities,” Kotek wrote. "My office has heard broader concerns this month from renewable energy, labor, fishing, and conservation communities on the risks that a failed competitive lease process would pose to Oregon’s developing supply chain industry and to its environmentally sensitive offshore habitats.”
Ranfis Villatoro, Oregon senior state policy manager for the BlueGreen Alliance, noted House Bill 4080, passed earlier this year, which requires the state to “roadmap” for offshore wind in the state so that all stakeholders feel engaged in the process.
“Offshore wind continues to be a critical opportunity for Oregon to meet its 100% clean energy goals by 2040, address climate change, and provide economic opportunities for Oregon workers and businesses,” Villatoro said in a statement. “However, building large renewable energy infrastructure takes time and Oregon owes it to its communities and coastal ecosystem to do it the right way.”
Heather Mann, executive director of the fishing industry group Midwater Trawlers Cooperative, said the pause was necessary to get buy in from the many people on the coast who still have concerns.
“This is allowing stakeholders — whether that's wind advocates, fishermen, coastal communities, scientists — to really focus on the roadmap and think about how and if offshore wind will be in our future,” she said.
Officials with BOEM did not say if or when a new auction would be held.
“In determining a future opportunity for a potential lease sale, BOEM will continue to collaborate with representatives from federal, state and local agencies and Tribal governments, to coordinate on potential leasing and support ongoing stakeholder engagement processes,” the agency said.