The US Department of the Interior (DOI) has released the scheduled date for the first-ever offshore wind energy lease auction off southern Oregon.
The two Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) in Oregon, the Coos Bay WEA and the Brookings WEA, will be auctioned on 15 October 2024 by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).
The Coos Bay (Lease Area P-OCS 0566) Wind Energy Area offshore Oregon is located approximately 32 miles (approximately 55 kilometres) from shore and covers 61,203 acres (approx. 248 square kilometres).
The bigger Brookings (Lease Area P-OCS 0567) Wind Energy Area spans 133,792 acres (approx. 541 square kilometres) and is located approximately 18 miles (approx. 29 kilometres) from shore.
The two areas have the potential to provide up to 3.1 GW of generation capacity and, if fully developed, could power approximately one million homes with clean energy, according to DOI. Areas in the federal waters off Oregon are deemed most suitable for floating wind technology.
The Final Sale Notice (FSN), which is the last step before the sale itself in the competitive lease award process, will be published in the Federal Register on 3 September. 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.
Alongside Avangrid Renewables, BlueFloat Energy Oregon, OW North America Ventures, and US Mainstream Renewable Power, another company that has also qualified to bid in the auction is South Coast Energy Waters I .