Do tribes see a way forward for Oregon’s offshore wind?

Beat Check with The Oregonian

At the end of September, when the federal government canceled Oregon’s first-ever offshore wind lease sale, many people were left with questions about why and what’s next.

The announcement from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management came after Gov. Tina Kotek sent a letter to the agency asking it to stop the Oct. 15 auction. Kotek cited tribal opposition and a tribal lawsuit among the reasons for halting the lease sale.

That lawsuit was filed by the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, which has emerged over the past two years as one of the most vocal opponents of offshore wind, demanding the bureau conduct in-depth reviews of the impacts of floating turbines on marine life and fishing areas.

Despite the lawsuit and the canceled auction, the tribal confederation has continued talks with the federal agency. Because the reality is that the turbines are badly needed to generate clean electricity and help achieve state and federal climate goals. The questions remain: how and where should these projects be built?

Brad Kneaper, Tribal Council chair with the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians and Rick Eichstaedt, the tribes’ attorney, talked on Beat Check about why his tribes decided to sue to halt the auction and what the path forward for Oregon’s offshore wind is.

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