Added Wind Energy Public Meeting

Newport fishing fleet.\Photo by Kirt Edblom.

The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) recently announced their draft decision about where to locate Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) off Oregon’s coast. BOEM’s goal is to lease plots within the WEAs to developers, with the aim of producing 2.6 gigawatts of power. The public now has the opportunity to comment. For background on this issue, go here.

Three in-person public hearings were set up by BOEM for the south coast—Gold Beach, Brookings, and Coos Bay—but no hearings were scheduled further north. This is frustrating to central coast residents, since many of the fishers who work on the southern coast are based in Newport.

In response, the office of Rep. David Gomberg, working with the Midwater Trawlers Cooperative, has organized a listening session in Newport this Friday (Sept. 29), from 4-6 p.m., at the Yaquina Bay Yacht Club (750 S.E. Bay Blvd.), to facilitate community engagement and gather input regarding the recently announced WEAs. The session aims to provide central coast residents with an opportunity to voice their opinions, concerns, and suggestions related to the proposed offshore wind energy projects. All residents, local businesses, environmental organizations, tribes, and concerned citizens to participate and share their insights.