New offshore wind lease sale announced for southern Oregon

The US Department of the Interior will hold an offshore wind energy lease sale off southern Oregon. The two areas to be auctioned on October 15, 2024, by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) could generate more than 3.1 GW of clean, renewable energy if fully developed, which could power approximately one million homes.

The final sale notice (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, which will publish in the Federal Register on September 3, 2024, includes two areas offshore Oregon. Lease Area P-OCS 0566 (Coos Bay) consists of 61,203 acres (24,768 hectares) and is approximately 32 miles (52 kilometres) from shore. Lease Area P-OCS 0567 (Brookings) consists of 133,792 acres (54,143.7 hectares) and is around 18 miles (29 kilometres) from shore.

The FSN includes several lease stipulations designed to promote the development of a robust domestic US supply chain for floating wind and advance flexibility in transmission planning among other things.

The issuance of any lease resulting from this sale would not constitute an approval of project-specific plans to develop offshore wind energy. Such plans, if submitted, would be subject to subsequent environmental, technical, and public reviews prior to a decision on whether the proposed development should be authorised.

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