Wind Power News: Oregon
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
North Coast’s wind energy could supply state with 4% of its electricity needs
California’s North Coast, along with southern Oregon, has the strongest offshore winds in the U.S., researchers say, and could generate approximately 4% of the state’s electricity needs if a larger offshore wind farm was built in a 200-square-mile area about 20 miles off the coast of Humboldt Bay. “It’s quite significant,” Arne Jacobson, director of the Schatz Energy Research Center at Humboldt State University, said at a virtual session presenting the findings of local offshore wind research on Monday afternoon. . . . Complete story »
Avangrid Renewables building Oregon wind farm after deal with Puget Sound Energy
These big renewable energy projects can linger for years, as Golden Hills did, waiting for an energy off-taker to emerge. But climate action, cost trends and the chance to maximize the value of federal incentives are spurring activity these days. Complete story »
Fishermen say Massachusetts, Oregon fail in offshore wind planning
Massachusetts commercial fishing groups objected to a proposed $19 million fund to compensate them for impacts on the industry from the planned Vineyard Wind 804-megawatt offshore wind energy project, saying the plan emerged without adequate input from the fishing community. “As far as we can tell, this plan was developed by Vineyard Wind through private meetings and consultations with officials from Massachusetts government,” the Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership wrote in a May 29 to the state Office of Coastal Zone Management, . . . Complete story »
What a Supreme Court ruling could mean for contested energy projects
Two controversial energy projects in the Columbia River Gorge area could move forward as the result of a ruling by the Oregon Supreme Court. The court’s ruling on Wednesday concerns administrative rules adopted in 2018 by the state Energy Facilities Siting Council, which oversees and imposes conditions on the construction and operation of large energy projects. The rules would have changed the process for the certification of energy sites and drew a challenge by conservation group Friends of the Columbia . . . Complete story »
Giant wind farm nears approval for new, longer blades
In addition to delivering improved energy production, the repowering could qualify the turbines for another round of the federal production tax credit, which lapses after 10 years of operation. Complete story »
Energy Siting Council is not looking out for public, natural resources
I just attended the Energy Facility Siting Council meeting in Pendleton. Following is what I learned: 1. The Oregon Department of Energy and the Energy Facility Siting Council are restoring the amendment rules that the Oregon Supreme Court determined were illegal. They allowed the public to comment but are not going to act on those comments until 2022. That means the public will have no opportunity to object to their decisions for three years. 2. ODOE and EFSC used the . . . Complete story »
Wind energy project possible for eastern Clatsop County
Clatsop County’s comprehensive plan in 1980 included a goal to promote energy conservation and the development of renewables. “Power systems which utilize solar and wind generated energy are well-suited for the northeast county and shall be encouraged to locate here,” the plan stated. Forty years later, a global wind energy company is exploring a project in the hills above the Georgia-Pacific Wauna Mill. WPD Wind Projects, the onshore wind development arm of German company WPD Group, signed a 45-year wind . . . Complete story »
State finds wind farm abused workers
Oregon Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle’s agency has lowered the boom on Colorado-based RES Construction, a subcontractor on the $590 million Montague wind farm in Eastern Oregon’s Gilliam County. Investigators for the Bureau of Labor and Industries determined RES deprived workers of hundreds of meal and rest breaks earlier this year. BOLI now proposes to fine RES $209,800, the biggest penalty imposed by the agency since it fined legislative leaders $1.1 million in a sexual harassment case. The Montague project qualified . . . Complete story »
Oregon State study says wind turbines threaten migrating bats
BEND – A Pacific Northwest bat that that migrates south for the winter faces a serious threat from wind turbines, according to a study by the by Oregon State University—Cascades. The study concludes that the hoary bat faces an uncertain future because its numbers have declined by 2% per year, the Bend Bulletin reports. Collisions with propellers on wind farms kill bats, said Tom Rodhouse, one of the authors, an ecologist with the National Park Service and a courtesy faculty member . . . Complete story »
Hoary bat numbers decline amid wind turbine expansion
Bats are facing multiple threats in the Pacific Northwest as both white-nose syndrome and wind turbines are threatening to decimate their population numbers, according to a study by Oregon State University—Cascades. The hoary bat – which does not hibernate but instead migrates south for the winter – faces an uncertain future because its numbers have declined at a rate of 2% per year, according to Tom Rodhouse, one of the authors of the study. The cause of the hoary bat decline is . . . Complete story »
