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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 2021)
A6 THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2021 New off shore wind farms planned One project set for the Oregon Coast By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it will help develop up to seven off shore wind farms on the East and West coasts and in the Gulf of Mexico as it moves to deploy 30 gigawatts of off shore wind energy by 2030 — gener- ating enough electricity to power more than 10 million homes. U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haa- land said at a wind power conference in Boston that her department hopes to hold lease sales by 2025 for proj- ects off the coasts of Maine, New York and the mid-At- lantic, as well as the Caroli- nas, California, Oregon and the Gulf of Mexico. If approved and built, the projects could avoid about 78 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions, offi cials said. “The Interior Department is laying out an ambitious road map as we advance the administration’s plans to confront climate change, create good-paying jobs and accelerate the nation’s tran- sition to a cleaner energy Michael Dwyer/AP Photo Three of Deepwater Wind’s fi ve turbines stand in the water off Rhode Island at the nation’s fi rst off shore wind farm. future,” Haaland said. “We have big goals to achieve a clean energy economy and Interior is meeting the moment.” In addition to off shore wind, the Interior Depart- ment is working with other federal agencies to increase renewable energy produc- tion on public lands, Haa- land said, with a goal of at least 25 gigawatts of onshore renewable energy from wind and solar power by 2025. Haaland and Amanda Lefton, the director of department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said offi cials hope to reduce potential confl icts with fi sh- ing groups and other ocean users as much as possible. “This means we will engage School bond: ‘A public school is really, especially in a small town, more than just a school’ Continued from Page A1 “It addresses critical maintenance and infrastruc- ture needs, and it’s going to improve the educational experience for the kids for years to come,” Montgom- ery said. “Also, I think that a strong public school helps build a strong community. So even if you don’t have kids in the district, if you live in the community, I think it’s in everyone’s interest to keep it viable. “And a public school is really, especially in a small town, more than just a school, it serves as almost a commu- nity center at times.” Over the past several years, voters have approved bond measures for schools in Astoria, Warrenton and Seaside. In Seaside, a $99.7 mil- lion bond approved in 2016 helped move schools out of the tsunami inundation zone. A $70 million bond in Asto- ria and a $38.5 million bond in Warrenton approved in 2018 fi nanced several school improvement projects. “This is just my personal viewpoint, but we do need to Lydia Ely/The Astorian Old portable buildings in Knappa would be replaced if a school bond passes. keep up a little bit, because a lot of what we’re doing is maintaining infrastructure … If we don’t do that type of stuff , then eventually it gets to a point where you become a pretty poor option out of all the schools in the area, and I would never want to see that happen,” Montgomery said. While Fritz said he doesn’t know if the recent approv- als of other school bond mea- sures will have any infl uence on how Knappa will vote, he said, “I think that when peo- ple look down the street and see modern facilities, they are like, ‘Well, we should have modern facilities as well.’” early and often with all stakeholders prior to identi- fying any new wind energy areas,” Lefton said in a statement. President Joe Biden has set a goal to deploy 30 gigawatts, or 30,000 mega- watts, of off shore wind power in the United States by 2030. Meeting the target could mean jobs for more than 44,000 workers and for 33,000 others in related employment, the White House said. The bureau completed its review of a construction and operations plan for the Vineyard Wind project off the Massachusetts coast this year. The agency is review- ing nine additional projects, including the South Fork wind farm near New York’s Long Island and the Ocean Wind project off New Jersey. Vineyard Wind is expected to produce about 800 megawatts of power and South Fork about 132 mega- watts. Ocean Wind, the larg- est project, has a total capac- ity of 1,100 megawatts, enough energy to power 500,000 homes across New Jersey. The administration has committed to processing the 13 other projects cur- rently under federal review by 2025. The ocean energy agency has said it is targeting off - shore wind projects in shal- low waters near Long Island and New Jersey. A recent study shows the area can support up to 25,000 devel- opment and construction jobs by 2030, the Interior Department said. Treatment: ‘It’s going to keep people out of the hospital’ Continued from Page A1 The c ounty Public Health Department is part- nering with local hospi- tals, which will provide the screening and physician’s approval required for the treatment. Columbia Memorial Hospital and Providence Seaside Hospital will staff the treatment center at Camp Rilea Armed Forces Training Center in War- renton. The treatment will likely be off ered a few days a week . Jason Plamondon, the chief nursing offi cer at Providence Seaside, said they are in the fi nal steps of planning. “I’m excited about this. I think this is a great oppor- tunity for our community, and it’s going to keep peo- ple out of the hospital,” he said. “That’s our big goal, right?” The health authority is providing the treatment to counties across Oregon following federal fund- ing from the U.S. Depart- ment of Health and Human Services. “It’s what’s available, and so we’re just working together to create an imple- mentation plan so that the community can receive it to keep them out of the hospital,” Lalich said. The Oregon Health Authority, meanwhile, reported three new virus cases for the county on Wednesday, four new virus cases on Tuesday and 15 new virus cases over the weekend. Since the pandemic began, the county had recorded 2,382 virus cases as of Wednesday. Thank your favorite first responders! The Astorian will publish a National First Responders Day Salute section on October 28, 2021 that includes your submitted photos and nominations for local first responders. Submit your photo and information online today! Deadline for submissions Friday, October 22 at noon. https://eo-media-group.secondstreetapp.com/First-Responders-Day-Salute Kitty Hawk: Carrier was decommissioned in 2009 Continued from Page A1 Nix had promoted the idea of the vessel being installed as a fl oating museum in Astoria. North Coast offi - cials, while sympathetic to his attempt to preserve an important part of U.S. mil- itary history, generally did not support the idea — fear- ing tourist crowds would swamp the community. The USS Kitty Hawk, nicknamed “Battle Cat,” was launched in 1961 and served in Vietnam, Afghan- istan and Iraq. The carrier was decom- missioned in 2009 at a cer- emony N ix attended. It has been docked since then at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton amid other older military vessels. Nix was a U.S. Navy pho- tographer who served two tours in Vietnam and retired as a master-at-arms and chief petty offi cer. Although the USS Midway, which came into service days after the end of World War II, has been preserved as a museum in San Diego, many historic vessels have been scrapped. One first responder in each category will be randomly drawn to win a free dinner. • Firefighters • Law Enforcement • Nurses & Medical Personnel • EMTs/Paramedics • Emergency dispatchers • Volunteers The USS Kitty Hawk was sold for scrap. “It is unfortunate that they will not preserve any of the supercarriers,” Nix said. U.S. Kitty Hawk Vet- erans Association had ear- lier given up its campaign to save the ship and focused eff orts on creating a shore- based museum. International Shipbreak- ing Ltd./EMR Brownsville has scrapped three other car- riers. The Brownsville Her- ald reported that executives said the Kitty Hawk was in good shape for towing. The trip from Bremerton through the Strait of Magellan, near the tip of South America, could take 10 to 18 weeks. The JFK, which was launched in 1968 and later took part in the Gulf War, was also sold for 1 cent to the same company. The vessel, which was decom- missioned in 2007, will be towed from its mooring at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The newspaper reported that the company’s con- tract with the Naval Sea Systems Command prohib- its allowing visitors to tread the decks one last time. But some arrival event or later ceremony is being contem- plated, company offi cials said. NATIONAL FIRST RESPONDERS DAY October 28, 2021 dailyastorian.com