August 15, 2023 — Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek is calling for more transparency from the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management as officials work to identify areas for potential offshore wind development off the state’s southern coast.
BOEM is identifying which sites may be best to build floating wind farms within two “call areas” covering 1,811 square miles of ocean near Coos Bay and Brookings.
In a letter sent Aug. 3 to agency director Elizabeth Klein, Kotek asked that BOEM hold a series of public meetings to share its draft wind energy areas and solicit feedback.
“While we understand that BOEM has met individually with community and tribal members in the interim, the broader public has not had access to BOEM’s proposed analysis of least-conflict wind energy areas, developed over the course of the last 16 months,” Kotek wrote.
The governor is also asking for BOEM to provide an update to the Oregon Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force, which last met on Feb. 25, 2022. The task force includes representatives from nearly 50 state, local, federal and tribal agencies.
Paul Romero, a spokesman for BOEM, said the agency has not yet released its draft wind energy areas publicly and “does not traditionally respond to letters from elected officials through the media.”