First wind lease sale offshore Oregon announced for October
Offshore

First wind lease sale offshore Oregon announced for October

The Pacific Northwest is one step closer to its first offshore wind development.

The Department of the Interior announced the timing of its next offshore wind energy lease sale, revealing the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will auction two areas off the coast of southern Oregon on October 15, 2024. Once fully developed, those sites could generate more than 3 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy, powering about one million homes.

Lease Area P-OCS 0566 (Coos Bay) consists of 61,203 acres and is approximately 32 miles from shore. Lease Area P-OCS 0567 (Brookings) consists of 133,792 acres and is around 18 miles from shore. 

The potential impact of the Oregon offshore wind lease auction coupled with maps of the two lease areas (courtesy: BOEM)

“Since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, the Interior Department has worked diligently to support the undeniable enthusiasm for a clean energy transition that will help address the climate crisis and create good-paying, family-sustaining jobs in every corner of America,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “The advancement of the first offshore wind sale in Oregon marks years of engagement with state partners, Tribes, ocean users and industry, and the Administration’s commitment to building a thriving and sustainable clean energy industry.” 

“By working together, we will unlock a future where clean energy and shared prosperity go hand in hand, combating climate change while creating opportunities for all,” added Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) director Elizabeth Klein.

What’s happening offshore?

Under the Biden-Harris administration, the Department has approved more than 13 GW of offshore wind energy, signed off on the nation’s first nine commercial-scale offshore wind projects, and held five offshore wind lease sales. The most recent auction was for two areas offshore Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia- Equinor Wind and Virginia Electric and Power Company (a subsidiary of Dominion Energy) were named provisional winners.

Winning bids in that auction totaled $94.65 million- an impressive sum, but significantly less than some of the BOEM’s previous forays, indicating downward pressure on what developers are willing to pay for an offshore lease. You may recall the 64-round, multi-day bonanza in February of 2022 for areas offshore New York and New Jersey, which included bids as high as $1.1B for a 125,964-acre chunk of ocean. High interest rates and supply chain issues can be blamed- investors like certainty, and ongoing threats to the IRA and Vineyard Wind 1’s turbine kerfuffle are likely not helping matters.

Earlier this year, Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced a schedule of additional lease sales through 2028, which looks like this:

The Central Atlantic 1 sale is the one referenced above. The Gulf of Mexico 2 sale was canceled due to a lack of competitive interest, although the BOEM did receive an unsolicited request from Hecate Energy Gulf Wind LLC. The first offshore wind energy auction in the Gulf of Maine is expected to follow the Oregon offshore auction in October.

Final sale notice and stipulations

The Final Sale Notice (FSN) for the Oregon offshore auction will be published in the Federal Register on September 3, 2024. The FSN is the last step (before the sale itself) in the competitive lease award process. It includes details regarding certain provisions and conditions of the leases, auction details, the lease form, criteria for evaluating competing bids, award procedures, appeal procedures, and lease execution.

The FSN includes several lease stipulations, including:

  • Offering bidding credits for those who enter into community benefit agreements or invest in workforce training or supply chain development
  • Requiring winning bidders to make efforts to enter into project labor agreements
  • Requiring engagement with Tribes, underserved communities, ocean users, and others.

Eighteen lease conditions were added to address requirements from the State of Oregon’s concurrence with BOEM’s Federal Consistency Determination.  

More details on the FSN, along with a map of the Lease Areas can be found on the BOEM’s website.