Dive Brief:
- Utility officials say power from an offshore wind farm proposed near the coast of Oregon would be up to five times more expensive than other sources, the Portland Tribune reports.
- Principle Power needs purchase committments by May 2016 in order to move ahead, but testimony before an advisory committee formed to help the project secure contracts appears to throw doubt on the project's viability.
- Originally proposed as a 30 MW facility off Coos Bay, the project has since been scaled back to 24 MW at most.
Dive Insight:
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) formed an advisory committee back in August to consider power purchase agreements with the proposed wind farm. While Principle Power at the time issued a statement appluading the move, recent testimony has not favored the wind developer, the Portland Tribune reports.
Brendan McCarthy, a lobbyist for Portland General Electric, said power from the project would "about five times as expensive. ... That’s concerning.” And Annette Price, lobbying for Pacific Power, called the project's output "too expensive for our ratepayers.”
Earlier this year Oregon lawmakers were considering a bill to require the state's utilities to purchase power from the WindFloat project, with terms of up to 25 years, but the measure failed following widespread opposition.
A report from the advisory committee is expected out in January.
Last year Principle Power was tapped by the U.S. Department of Energy for up to $47 million in matching grant funding to accelerate development of the project. Originally proposed with 30 MW and five turbines, the project has now been scaled back and would be anywhere from 16 MW to 24 MW. It is the first offshore wind farm proposed for the West Coast, would be located in 350 meters of water and would be out of sight from land.
“Principle Power’s WindFloat Pacific Project has enormous potential to grow Oregon’s economy and jobs, and launch the offshore wind industry in the West Coast," said Project Manager Kevin Banister.