BOEM rescinds designated Wind Energy Areas
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced it is rescinding all designated Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), including proposed projects off the Oregon Coast.
“This action is being taken in accordance with Secretary’s Order (SO) 3437 - Ending Preferential Treatment for Unreliable, Foreign Controlled Energy Sources in Department Decision-Making – and the Presidential Memorandum of January 20, 2025 – Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the OCS from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects,” the BOEM states in a release issued July 30.
The proposed locations off the Oregon Coast included two lease areas totaling 194,995 acres — one in the Coos Bay Wind Energy Area and the other in the Brookings Wind Energy Area — which have the potential to power more than one million homes with clean, renewable energy.
WEAs were originally established to identify offshore locations deemed most suitable for wind energy development.
By rescinding WEAs, BOEM is ending the federal practice of designating large areas of the OCS for speculative wind development and is de-designating over 3.5 million acres of unleased federal waters previously targeted for offshore wind development across the Gulf of America, Gulf of Maine, the New York Bight, California, Oregon, and the Central Atlantic, the release states.
The proposed wind development along the Oregon Coast has sparked opposition from state and local officials since the projects were first discussed in 2013.
“I stand with my tribal friends, the bipartisan coastal caucus members of the legislature and especially my neighbors who live on the coast when we urged caution until there is further understanding of the impacts of to the entire environment,” Oregon State Sen. Dick Anderson said when auctions for the two Oregon sites were announced in 2024 by the U.S. Department of Energy. “Sadly, this is a normal course of action for the federal government, who just provides lip service to all of us versus actually listening to us. My office is engaged in doing whatever we can to slow the process down before there is no turning back.”
State Rep. David Gomberg told KOIN Portland that the Oregon Caucus cannot support future wind development steps off the Oregon coast by BOEM until Oregon develops its Offshore Wind Road Map.
“The federal government owes the people of the Oregon coast the due diligence required to ensure that these turbines won’t disrupt both our coastal economy and its ecology,” Gomberg told KOIN. “The Coastal Caucus stands in firm opposition to lease auctions at this time.”
The Confederated Tribes of Coos Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians said the acreage in the proposal is within the tribe’s ancestral territory and are important areas for tribal fishing.
“The tribe has consistently urged that BOEM delay moving forward with wind energy development until a better understanding is made of the impacts to fish, wildlife, the marine environment, and cultural resources important to the tribe,” Tribal Council Chair Brad Kneaper said in a release. “No one, including BOEM, has an understanding on how wind development will impact the fragile marine environment.”
Amid mounting opposition to offshore wind development off the coast of Oregon, the federal government announced Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, it was delaying the planned auction for the development of two wind energy sites as Gov. Tina Kotek urged the federal agency to halt all leasing plans and stop the auction, according to an Oregon Capital Chronicle report.
“The developments call into question the potential for future development of offshore wind energy off the Oregon coast. The state’s coastal communities, seafood industry and tribes fiercely opposed the federal agency’s plans, which concerned the governor,” the Oregon Capital Chronicle report stated.