The federal government will auction off two wind farms off the coast of southern Oregon in October.

The Biden administration will solicit bids in October to develop two wind farms off the coast of southern Oregon.

The announcement Thursday followed an environmental assessment of the Coos Bay and Brookings sites by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The analysis found the sites would have no “significant” impact on people or the environment.

“Progress on Oregon’s first offshore wind sale represents years of collaboration with state partners, tribes, ocean users and industry, and the Administration’s commitment to building a thriving and sustainable clean energy industry,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a release.

The release said that when fully developed, the facilities would have the capacity to generate more than 3.1 gigawatts of renewable energy, enough to power 1 million homes.

The lands would include 61,200 acres off Coos Bay and 133,808 acres off Brookings. The Coos Bay area is 30 miles off the coast, and the Brookings area is 20 miles away. The Interior Department has said granting any leases would not constitute approval of the development plans. To move forward, they would have to pass environmental, technical and public reviews, including input from tribes, state and federal agencies and the public.

Five tribes in Oregon and California, members of the seafood industry and some residents oppose the development. Critics say federal officials have been dishonest about their plans, and last November, the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians passed a resolution against the sites. It said the tribal council had failed to demonstrate that the development would not harm the tribes. Coos County residents will vote on a referendum initiative on the development in November. A coalition of independent fishing boat operators, seafood companies and industry groups also asked Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek to intervene to stop the development.

Oregon must transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy to meet its emissions reduction goals. The Department of Environmental Quality’s current Climate Protection Program — which requires final approval — sets a goal of reducing fossil fuel emissions by 50% by 2035 and 90% by 2050.

Wind power could help Oregon get closer to that goal, but it accounts for only a fraction of the state’s energy use. The Oregon Department of Energy’s most recent energy report says wind power accounted for 7 percent of energy use in 2000.

Nationwide plans

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has put five areas off the coast of California up for auction to develop floating wind projects and approved six projects on the East Coast. They are part of the Biden administration’s plan to hold up to a dozen auctions for offshore wind by 2028. The administration is targeting a total of 30 gigawatts of wind energy to be deployed by 2030 — enough to power more than 10 million homes for a year.

According to the ocean energy office, four companies have qualified to bid on land leases in Oregon: Portland-based Avangrid Renewables, Spanish companies BlueFloat Energy and Ocean Winds, and Irish company Mainstream Renewable Power.

Leases are likely to be awarded before Oregon releases its offshore wind development plan in 2025, and construction is likely to continue for the next five years. The projects will require major upgrades to electricity transmission systems along the coast.

The state’s planned offshore wind development roadmap is part of House Bill 4080, passed earlier this year to create a foundation for offshore wind that complies with labor standards and takes community input into account.

Minor effects

In their environmental impact assessment, officials determined that construction of wind projects in two areas off the coast of Oregon would have negligible or moderate impacts on marine mammals and sea turtles due to noise from underwater research and potential entanglement in mooring systems and buoys. The most important factors that could affect marine animals and sea turtles, officials said, are ships striking wind turbine infrastructure. For seabirds and coastal birds, the potential harm from underwater noise, boat and aircraft traffic, trash and debris, and accidental fuel spills was deemed negligible.

Commercial fishing will likely experience minor issues primarily related to increased marine traffic during project construction, officials wrote. Project developers will need to work with local fisheries to coordinate traffic during installation and testing. Recreational fishing, particularly the albacore and whitefish fishery in Coos County or near Coos Bay, could be adversely affected periodically over the five-year period, but officials expect a full return to recreational fishing once construction is complete, the report said.

These projects will provide an economic boost to coastal ports and counties by creating jobs and bringing people to the area during construction. However, the report states that the economic impact will be short-lived and difficult to measure.

The report cited several economic benefits for nearby tribes, including the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians. The agency said it would consult with tribes on any project proposals and would include tribes in environmental impact assessments.