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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
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