June 30, 2022 โ Few dispute the need to develop alternative ways to generate electricity that donโt produce greenhouse gases, but our response to a proposed floating offshore wind farm in Washington state isnโt a straightforward โyes.โ
Similar complications arise regarding floating wind turbines off the southern Oregon Coast. These prompted the Astoria City Council and the Port of Astoria Commission to recently ask the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Oregon Department of Energy to take their time before granting permission. Local officials want a demonstration project before grander plans are authorized, along with a full-scale environmental impact analysis.
In Washington state, the development being pursued by Seattle-based Trident Winds is generating misgivings among some users of offshore waters, who fear the wind farm located about 45 miles west of the mouths of Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor โ and the cables linking it to the shore โ could be one more blow to fisheries and the environment.
To put these concerns in a historical context, hydropower development in the 20th century in the Columbia River watershed came with many promises about preserving salmon runs and small-town economies. We all know how that turned out.
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