A map shows potential zones of offshore wind generation along the mainland U.S. West Coast, with an undersea transmission line running along the Pacific County shoreline to a terminus at Satsop in Grays Harbor County. A tribal lawsuit is challenging plans in the ocean off southern Oregon.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez earlier this summer would put the clamps on local offshore wind energy developments.

In June, Perez (D-Skamania) introduced House Resolution 8718, the Protecting Coastal Communities Act, which would conditionally prohibit commercial offshore wind energy development off the southern Washington and northern Oregon coast unless a study shows that offshore wind projects would not have adverse impacts on local aquaculture, fishing and recreational industries.

“Developers and politicians in D.C. often assume rural communities and regions are just a blank spot on the map,” the congresswoman said in a statement after introducing the bill. “We know folks in Southwest Washington have been fighting for generations to protect our vibrant economy and fragile ecosystem, which should be front of mind when new infrastructure is being proposed.”

Pull Quote

‘One of the biggest issues with offshore wind is that we don’t understand the scope of its impacts on the many ecosystems, including aquaculture, that drive Southwest Washington’s economy and are part of our cultural heritage.’

Kathleen Nisbet-Moncy, chief operating officer of Goose Point Oysters in Bay Center

The bill is currently sitting in the House Natural Resources Committee. If it were to pass both chambers of Congress and be signed into law, the director of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) would have 120 days to conduct a study assessing federal agencies’ environmental review processes for offshore wind projects in the Columbia Management Area, which includes most of the waters off the coasts of Washington and Oregon.

The study would have to consider the impacts of offshore wind projects on marine mammals, marine invertebrates, finfish, shellfish aquaculture, essential fish habitat, plankton abundance and distribution, air quality and greenhouse gas emissions, the commercial and recreational fishing industries, recreation and tourism, and fisheries-dependent communities.

The study must also consider how each of the various federal agencies — such as the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) — determines which stakeholders to consult with regarding offshore wind projects and if a “comprehensive” comment period is provided for locals and interested parties.

No lease, license, permit or other authorization may be issued for commercial offshore wind development unless the GAO’s director determines the results of the study show that offshore wind projects in the Columbia Management Area “do not and will not have adverse impacts.”

Pushback to offshore wind

Perez’s bill comes after local aquaculture and fishing leaders have increasingly voiced concerns in recent years about the economic impact that offshore wind energy projects could have on their industries. Among those who have led the charge in opposition to offshore wind development is Ilwaco fisherman Dale Beasley, who serves as president of the Columbia River Crab Fishermen’s Association.

“No amount of rhetoric can change the fact that we do not need it, we cannot afford it, and we have multiple energy alternatives that are cheaper and more reliable available to Washington on land to meet our future energy needs far into the foreseeable future without displacing coastal jobs over huge areas of the ocean necessary to sustain our coastal socioeconomic wellbeing,” Beasley said in a statement.

Kathleen Nisbet-Moncy, the chief operating officer of Goose Point Oysters in Bay Center, said her company’s been increasingly concerned that BOEM, the federal agency in charge of offshore wind permitting, has been approving offshore wind developments without conducting “proper and necessary research” to ensure there’s no potential for harm.

“One of the biggest issues with offshore wind is that we don’t understand the scope of its impacts on the many ecosystems, including aquaculture, that drive Southwest Washington’s economy and are part of our cultural heritage,” Nisbet-Moncy said.

Last month, the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, which represents 20 Washington tribes with treaty-protected fishing rights, sent a letter to BOEM expressing their opposition to further offshore wind development on the West Coast and requesting that current discussions be put on hold until their concerns regarding potential adverse impacts on the marine environment and resources have been addressed.

While tribes are “acutely aware of the need to transition to renewable energy sources and decarbonize our energy sector,” the letter from Ed Johnstone, the fisheries commission’s chair, states that the transition must not unduly impact tribal treaty rights and treaty-reserved resources.

“We believe that offshore wind development poses a significant threat to treaty-reserved resources and treaty rights. As our federal trustee, BOEM has a responsibility to ensure that these resources are protected for current and future generations,” the letter states.

Latest developments

In 2022, Trident Winds, a Seattle-based offshore wind developer, submitted an unsolicited lease proposal to BOEM for an offshore wind project in federal waters about 45 miles off the coast of Pacific and Grays Harbor counties. As proposed, the floating wind farm would cover about 315 square miles and deliver up to 2,000 megawatts, which is enough energy to power 800,000 homes, the company claims.

Another company, Hecate Energy, also submitted an unsolicited proposal that year to BOEM for an offshore wind farm in federal waters about 17 miles off the coast of the two counties. This proposed wind farm would cover about 403 square miles and also produce up to 2,000 megawatts of power.

While onshore wind development usually takes just 2-3 years from inception to commissioning, according to a 2019 study from the World Bank Group, an offshore wind farm typically takes 5-10 years to develop.

States’ control over the ocean extends 12 nautical miles from its coast, and Washington is largely seen as trailing its fellow West Coast states in developing offshore wind energy. California and Oregon anticipate deploying floating offshore wind energy by 2030, while Washington does not yet have a process for facilitating projects.

Last fall, while announcing an initiative to support Washington companies in the offshore wind energy supply chain, Gov. Jay Inslee said there are “important, unanswered questions” about offshore wind in Washington.

“We need to better understand potential impacts to the ocean environment and fisheries. Treaty-reserved rights must be protected. The technology must also pencil out to be profitable, and there are substantial costs to transmit energy back to shore,” he said. “The state will partner with Tribes, coastal communities, the federal government, industry, and other stakeholders to begin to study these and other concerns.”