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THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, July 12, 2022
Offshore wind: ‘We go to where the fish are’
Continued from Page A1
In late April, the Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management published details about two call
areas designated for offshore wind development
in Oregon.
The Coos Bay Call Area begins 13.8 miles
offshore of Charleston and is 67 miles long and
41 miles wide. The Brookings Call Area begins
13.8 miles offshore of Gold Beach and is 46
miles long and 22 miles wide. Together, the
areas encompass 3,759 square miles.
A 60-day comment period ended in June for
developers to nominate locations within the two
areas that would be best suited for wind projects.
At least one builder, Deep Blue Pacific Wind,
nominated three such locations in its bid to build
the Northwest’s first floating offshore wind farm.
Deep Blue Pacific Wind is a joint venture
between Simply Blue Group, an offshore wind
developer based in Ireland, and TotalEnergies, a
French energy company with U.S. headquarters
in Houston. In January, the venture hired Peter
Cogswell as director of government and exter-
nal affairs.
Cogswell, based in Portland, is the former
director of intergovernmental affairs for the
Bonneville Power Administration, which mar-
kets electricity produced in the region. He said
Oregon is particularly attractive for offshore
wind due to a world-class resource and policies
to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2040.
Rather than being fixed to the seabed, tur-
bines in the Pacific would have to be built on
floating platforms to capture wind where it
blows the hardest. Cogswell estimated it would
take between 50 and 60 turbines to generate 1
gigawatt of energy.
“There’s a lot to like about this resource,” he
said. “It’s a very high (capacity) for a renewable
form of generation.”
generators would be anchored.
“We go to where the fish are,” he said. “Up
and down the whole coast, the waters are alive
and well. We use most of the waters out there.”
Need for renewables
The drive for 100% clean energy in Oregon
has raised the stakes for building new renewable
energy projects statewide — including offshore
wind generators.
House Bill 2021, signed into law by Gov.
Kate Brown in 2021, requires retail electricity
providers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
from electricity sold to Oregon consumers by
80% by 2030, 90% by 2035 and 100% by 2040.
To get there, Nicole Hughes, the execu-
tive director of Renewable Northwest, a Port-
land-based advocacy group, said offshore wind
is vital.
Renewable Northwest was part of a coalition
that published a study in July, analyzing what it
will take for Oregon to achieve the benchmarks
set under the new law.
“The one thing that was consistent across
all scenarios was that offshore wind is needed,”
Hughes said. “Our view is that this is an amazing
opportunity for the state, both as being needed to
meet our clean energy goals but also as an eco-
nomic opportunity.”
Hughes said the push for offshore wind could
give rise to a new industry in Oregon, provid-
ing manufacturing jobs and infrastructure in
coastal communities that have been econom-
ically depressed with the decline of the timber
industry over the past four decades.
“We need to make sure we’re going to do it
right so it benefits all Oregonians,” she said.
Cogswell, with Deep Blue Pacific Wind,
said he expects the agency to hold a lease auc-
tion later this year if everything goes according
to schedule.
Across the country, developers spent $4.4
Dueling processes
billion in February purchasing offshore wind
John Romero, a spokesman for the Bureau of energy rights in the New York Bight between
Ocean Energy Management, said the call areas Long Island and New Jersey.
are meant to identify where offshore wind “may
Once a specific project is proposed, Cogswell
be safely and responsibly developed,” while said it will initiate a deeper environmental anal-
ysis before going ahead with construction. He
soliciting feedback from the public.
Getting to this point took years of planning, said it would likely be a decade or longer before
Romero said. In 2010, then-Gov. Ted Kulon- any wind turbines are in operation.
goski requested an intergovernmental task force
“You’re going to have to balance the benefits
be formed between the bureau and state agen- with ... how they affect existing uses around fish-
cies, led by the Department of Land Conser- ing, and the effect they’ll have on the environ-
ment,” he said.
vation and Development, to
Caren Braby, a marine
study offshore wind.
‘THE ONE
resources program manager
That process emphasized
for the Oregon Department
collaborating with local gov-
THING
ernments, tribes, coastal com-
of Fish and Wildlife, said that
munities and other ocean
while the Bureau of Ocean
THAT WAS
users to identify the call areas,
Energy Management task
CONSISTENT
Romero said.
force has exchanged plenty of
At the same time, Oregon
data, more time is needed to
ACROSS All
lawmakers passed House Bill
comprehend what it all means
SCENARIOS
3375 during the 2021 legisla-
for the ecosystem.
tive session. The law directs
“I think it’s fair to say there
WAS THAT
the state Department of Energy
isn’t a place within either of
to analyze how it can integrate
these call areas where some-
OFFSHORE
thing isn’t happening,” Braby
3 gigawatts of offshore wind
WINd IS
said.
energy onto the electrical grid.
In addition to displacing
Jason Sierman, a senior
NEEdEd.’
fishermen, Braby said tur-
policy analyst for the depart-
ment, is leading the study,
bines might at least partially
Nicole Hughes | executive
director of Renewable
which is due back to the Leg-
interrupt wind from its nat-
Northwest, a Portland-based
islature by mid-September.
ural function of upwelling
advocacy group
Their goal, Sierman said, is
ocean water. She compared it
to gain a better understanding
to blowing on a cup of coffee,
of the challenges and benefits
stirring cream up from the bot-
tom of the cup.
related to offshore wind.
“The turbines are, by design, capturing
“It would provide a great resource to meet
those 100% clean energy targets,” he said. wind,” she explained. “There’s just one total of
“Three gigawatts is a big number, but in order to wind resource. You are, by definition, splitting
meet the 100% clean targets of all these Western it. It’s not clear how much impact that will have,
states, it’s going to require hundreds of gigawatts but it is measurable.”
However, Braby also acknowledged that cli-
of new resources to be built somewhere.”
On the other hand, part of the challenge is mate change is having an impact on the ocean,
where exactly to site the wind farms and how contributing to acidification and low-oxygen
to mitigate their impact on ocean users, he said. areas impacting key fisheries.
“It is with that frame that we look at renew-
“Economic impact to the fishing economy is
a big one I’ve heard a lot about,” Sierman said. able energy development proposals,” Braby
“Fishers may potentially have their customary said, adding that the Department of Fish and
ocean areas inaccessible — at least a fraction of Wildlife is “very interested in alleviating some
them — from projects being potentially sited in of our reliance on fossil fuels.”
Mann, with the Midwater Trawlers Coopera-
these ocean areas.”
Losing fishing grounds inside the call areas tive, said she hopes the industry’s concerns will
could be harmful to fishermen along the Oregon prompt state agencies and the Bureau of Ocean
Coast, said Heather Mann, the executive director Energy Management to slow down their process.
“We see an opportunity with HB 3375 to
of the Midwater Trawlers Cooperative.
The areas are particularly bountiful due to actually understand what these risks and ben-
the California Current, which provides a strong efits are,” she said. “I feel confident that if the
upwelling of water and nutrients for seafood. study comes out and is truthful, that legislators
Mann estimated more than 25% of Pacific whit- will look at that say, ‘Wow, this is akin to the oil
ing harvested in the last decade has come from and gas exploration we banned.’”
the two call areas proposed by the Bureau of
Several state and federal lawmakers are also
Ocean Energy Management.
urging the Bureau of Ocean Energy Manage-
Pacific whiting is the largest commercial fish- ment to slow down and fully consider impacts
ery off the West Coast of the U.S. and British on coastal communities before moving forward
Columbia, Canada.
with leasing.
“The wind resource that the developers want
In a letter to Bureau of Ocean Energy Man-
is part of the (California) Current benefit that agement Director Amanda Lefton, U.S. Sen.
also creates great fishing opportunities,” Mann Ron Wyden and U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio said
said. “People have been harvesting (seafood) out the Coos Bay and Brookings call areas should be
of those two areas for decades and generations. moved beyond a depth of 1,300 meters to mini-
mize displacing commercial fishing.
They have been very productive fishing areas.”
“Fishing grounds have been steadily shrink-
The Retherfords are one example, with three
generations of the family taking to life on the ing for decades and coastal communities up and
down the Pacific coast continue to suffer eco-
ocean.
Aboard the Coastal Pride, Chris Rether- nomic and cultural loss,” the Oregon Democrats
ford and his 16-year-old son, Christian, worked wrote.
Further limiting fishing grounds in the call
alongside the crew performing maintenance and
filling the boat with diesel fuel before heading areas “could spell economic disaster for these
out to catch pink shrimp. Trips typically last one towns,” the letter continued.
Kelley Retherford said the fishing industry
to four days, depending on the season.
On the bridge, where Retherford captains will continue to push back against the call areas,
the ship, he flips on his automatic identifica- fighting for their livelihoods.
tion system, a computerized map that allows
“We don’t want new jobs. We don’t want
him to view other boats broadcasting their loca- a different career,” Retherford said. “We spent
tions. The system shows fishing boats crossing our lives as a fishing family, and we’re going to
through the Bureau of Ocean Energy Manage- spend our future as a fishing family. We will sur-
ment designated call areas where large wind vive, and we will be resilient.”
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Vacation rentals have created problems in neighborhoods such as Cove Beach.
Ordinance: Vacation
rentals are an unsettled
issue on the Oregon Coast
Continued from Page A1
gone through the entire process
yet,” Bohn told commissioners.
The idea of limiting the num-
ber of vacation rentals convinced
Commissioner Pamela Wev, who
had voted against the first reading
of the ordinance, to approve the
second reading last month.
Vacation rentals are an unset-
tled issue on the Oregon Coast.
The ventures attract tourists and
local businesses and local govern-
ments enjoy the economic ben-
efits. But critics argue that the
behavior of out-of-towners and
their impact on the environment
degrades the quality of life in
some neighborhoods.
Lincoln County voters passed a
ballot measure last year to phase
out vacation rentals in unincorpo-
rated residential zones over five
years. A challenge to the measure
is under review by the state Land
Use Board of Appeals.
Where Lincoln County’s situa-
tion involves a voter initiative pro-
posing a new ordinance, in Clatsop
County, the prospective petition, if
it lands on the ballot, would repeal
an existing ordinance, Joanna
Lyons-Antley, the county counsel,
clarified on Wednesday.
The recent moves around vaca-
tion rentals in Clatsop County
come after about two dozen public
meetings on the issue over three
years. The discussion began in late
2019, when Cove Beach residents
raised concerns about neighbor-
hood livability. About a third of
the dwellings in that neighborhood
are vacation rentals.
In April, county commission-
ers voted to amend the operating
standards for vacation rentals out-
side of Arch Cape. The updated
standards, contained in the county
code, banned permit transfers,
shortened permit length, cre-
ated rules around occupancy and
required that rental owners post
good-neighbor flyers that address
parking, speed limits, quiet hours
and other conduct-based concerns.
Since a moratorium was first
imposed last summer, the county
hasn’t issued any new vacation
rental permits, giving the county
time to figure out how to regu-
late the controversial enterprises.
The twice-extended freeze is set to
expire in late August.
That residents in Astoria, War-
renton, Gearhart, Seaside and
Cannon Beach, which have their
own vacation rental rules, could
vote on an issue that affects only
unincorporated areas may cause
confusion. Commissioner Lianne
Thompson said on Wednesday that
communication on this point could
be challenging.
Bohn reminded the commis-
sion that the process had just
begun. “The good news, I guess,
if you want to see it, is that we do
have time,” he said.
Janet Piippo
Janet Piippo has posted photos to Astoria Riverwalk fans, a Facebook group.
Piippo: ‘We have to have
change — whether it’s good or
bad — things have to change’
Continued from Page A1
After joining Facebook, Piippo
started using her cellphone cam-
era to take photos of the Columbia
River from her window and along
the Astoria Riverwalk.
She became a frequent contrib-
utor to Astoria Riverwalk fans, a
Facebook group with more than
4,500 members. Some of her pho-
tos have received hundreds of likes
and dozens of comments.
“Really, it’s just a pastime for
me,” Piippo said. “I love doing it,
and I wish more people would get
into it.”
Sharing her photos has become
a way for her to stay connected
with people during the coronavirus
pandemic.
“COVID took away kind of two
years from our lives ... and espe-
cially older people,” Piippo said. “I
feel like I’m getting some of it back
by this. I mean, it’s just rewarding
to hear some of the comments that
people put in and how much they
love Astoria.”
She said it has helped her con-
nect with former classmates who
live out of state who got in touch
with her after seeing her pho-
tos. She also enjoys when people
knowledgeable about boats jump
into the comment section when she
is curious to learn something about
a particular ship passing by.
“It brings everybody closer, I
think,” she said.
Piippo recalled growing up in
Astoria and how much the river-
front has changed over the years.
She remembers going to the
canneries with her friends. At one,
they would take a wood block with
a fishing line and fish for suckers
through holes in the floor.
At another, they would help a
friend’s mother clean up the caf-
eteria in exchange for free lunch.
She recalled the numerous food
fights.
“It was fun growing up here,”
Piippo said. She said people did
not always think Astoria was a
great place to grow up and many
could not wait to leave.
“It’s certainly not what I grew
up with,” Piippo said of the city
today. “And things don’t stay the
same — they can’t. We have to
have change — whether it’s good
or bad — things have to change.”