Oregon’s Proposed Floating Offshore Wind Project

With Oregon’s goal of 100% clean electricity by 2040, developing new renewable energy sources is critical, and offshore wind is one of these potential sources. Offshore our southern Oregon and northern California coasts blow some of strongest, most consistent, and most predictable winds in the world. Responsibly tapping into this energy resource could supply up to 3 gigawatts of electric power, enough to provide electricity to over half the homes in Oregon.

Many of us have seen onshore wind turbines, but far fewer people have seen or learned about offshore wind turbines, especially here on the west coast. Bottom mounted wind turbine arrays are operational off the coasts of Virginia, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. However, unlike the US East coast with a wide, shallow continental shelf, our continental shelf drops away rapidly making the ground-mounted turbines infeasible here. A new hybrid technology of floating turbines is quickly being developed and deployed around the world.

Bill will discuss the status of Oregon’s floating offshore wind effort along with an update on the technical status. He will also share concerns raised by tribes, fishing groups, and local residents about the proposed project and how these are being addressed.