(SALEM, OR) - - Oregon is showing an interest in offshore wind power, six years after the state passed up an opportunity to be an early leader with the renewable resource.
By a 56-0 count, the House on Tuesday approved a bill that
would establish a task force to explore developing 3 gigawatts of wind power
off the Oregon coast by 2030.
That would be a lot of wind power, nearly equal in nameplate
capacity to the state’s onshore fleet on the Columbia plateau, but more
productive, given the better wind conditions off the coast.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. David Brock Smith, a South
Coast Republican who sees economic development possibilities with the resource.
One idea he’s keen on: Using the wind power to produce
renewable hydrogen, a potential clean energy source that’s getting increasing
attention, at the Port of Coos Bay.
“Sen. (Lee) Beyer has Senate Bill 333 that looks at planning
for hydrogen facilities. President Biden has said he wants to see 50 of those
renewable hydrogen facilities around the nation. We have an opportunity to fund
renewable hydrogen with federal help and power it with other renewable energy,”
Smith said on the House floor Tuesday.
Studies have shown that offshore wind power could also help
balance an Oregon grid that sees energy moving generally from east to west.
During the Obama administration, the federal government
offered $47 million to support a small offshore wind project off Oregon’s
coast. But lawmakers balked at requiring the state’s investor-owned utilities
to contract for the power, which would have been several times typical
wholesale costs.
But rising clean-energy ambitions are inspiring another look
at the technology.
Offshore wind power is already huge in Europe, growing in
Asia and beginning to get traction off the U.S. East Coast. The Biden
administration is supportive.
Oregon’s deep Pacific Ocean waters would require the use of
floating turbines, a technology that’s viable but not widely deployed and is
likely to be more expensive than standard turbines that are bolted to the sea
floor. But the wind resource 20 miles out at sea, especially off the South
Coast, is considered top-notch. And the expectation is that costs will fall as
deployments increase.
Having passed the House, the offshore wind bill moves to the
Senate for consideration.
