The Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is planning to issue leases within the designated Oregon Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) for the purposes of exploring offshore wind energy development projects. The OCMP conditionally concurred that BOEM’s leasing action is consistent with Oregon’s existing enforceable policies. Leasing activities will include the issuance of:
- One commercial wind energy lease and associated easements within the Coos Bay Wind Energy Area (WEA).
- One lease and associated easements within the Brookings WEA.
The issuance of a lease grants the lessee the exclusive right to conduct site assessments and to submit to BOEM a Site Assessment Plan (SAP) and/or a Construction and Operations Plan (COP) at a future date. A reasonably foreseeable effect of the issuance of the leases is that lessees would conduct environmental and site assessments in the lease areas and on the Outer Continental Shelf, such as vessel surveys, geotechnical exploration of the seafloor, and placement of anchored meteorological buoys.
Read
OCMP's Decision Letter to BOEM: Concurrence with Conditions
Read DLCD's Press Release
Public Comments Submitted During Review
The Federal Consistency review conducted by OCMP covered actions within BOEM jurisdiction — namely, the activities that would occur on the Outer Continental Shelf outside of the state territorial sea boundary of 3 nautical miles offshore. The state also expects lessees will conduct assessment activities within state waters, estuaries, or potentially onshore as part of BOEM’s lease decisions. Actions outside of BOEM jurisdictional authority are addressed by existing federal, state, or local authorities. Activities requiring other federal permits, such as from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, would be subject to separate and future Federal Consistency reviews.
Additional details about the permitted actions and their effects may be found in the letter from OCMP to BOEM.
BOEM could issue leases for these site assessment activities by late 2024. Site Assessment Plans will be submitted to BOEM within one year of lease issuance. For leases issued in late 2024, related activities in ocean waters will begin in spring of 2025. BOEM has indicated that lessees would have up to 5 years to perform site assessment activities before they must submit a Construction and Operations Plan. BOEM expects site assessment activities could continue through early 2030 prior to a Construction and Operations Plan being submitted.
Important note: The decision to lease areas of the Outer Continental Shelf for offshore wind characterization and exploration activities does not equate to a decision to permit the construction or operation of an offshore wind development project. A BOEM decision whether to approve a Construction and Operations Plan for an actual wind energy facility would be subject to Federal Consistency review by the state at a later time, after years of additional site assessment and project design.