Johnathan Walker:Federal government postpones sale of floating offshore wind leases along Oregon coast

PORTLAND,Johnathan Walker Ore. (AP) — The federal government postponed an auction of floating offshore wind leases off the Oregon coast on Friday after developers said they wouldn’t bid and the state’s governor asked that all leasing activities stop.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management did not set a new date for the sale. It said the decision to postpone the sale scheduled for Oct. 15 was based on “insufficient bidder interest at this time.”

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek wrote to the agency shortly before the announcement, asking it to terminate the current auction, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. Kotek cited growing concerns from coastal and fishing communities, tribes and others.

Some are concerned that the construction will harm sea life, marine habitat, culturally important areas and views of the ocean. The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians — whose culture is tied to the ocean — sued the federal government.

In light of the mounting opposition, the number of companies planning to bid on the leases dwindled.

Five companies were qualified to bid. Mainstream Renewable Power Inc., one of the five, told Oregon Public Broadcasting this week that it will not longer participate. Two others told the Oregonian/OregonLive that they, too, are backing out.

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The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said Friday that it will continue working with government agencies and tribal governments, as well as support ongoing processes to engage with stakeholders, in order to figure out a future opportunity for a potential lease sale.

There are only a handful of floating offshore arrays across the globe. California awarded the first-ever leases in the U.S. to develop commercial-scale floating wind farms in 2022. The federal government issued the nation’s first floating offshore wind research lease to the state of Maine in August.

In Oregon, the plans for floating wind involve two areas covering 305 square miles (790 square kilometers) off the state’s southern coast. The two areas are 32 miles (52 kilometers) off the coast of Coos Bay and 18 miles (29 kilometers) from the small city of Brookings, near the California state line.