On Oct. 14, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that Oregon State University will receive a $2 million grant from the Department of Energy to study the impact of offshore winds on the environment.
The grant comes from a $13.5 million investment from the DOE to provide critical environmental and wildlife data for the support of increased offshore wind development. OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center, located in Newport, was one of four projects selected to help inform how offshore wind deployment can be harnessed in ways that mitigate potential negative impacts on surrounding ecosystems of marine life and fisheries.
“Offshore wind presents a key piece of a greener future, and I’m thrilled that OSU has earned this federal investment to apply its top-notch research in Newport to this clean energy source,” said Wyden, author of the Clean Energy for America Act. “I’m glad the Energy Department has recognized Oregon State can provide the research and data to ensure the development of this clean and sustainable energy source doesn’t hurt our state’s world-renowned coastal fisheries and wildlife.”
Of the four projects, the HMSC is one of two that will be preparing the West Coast for the development of floating offshore wind energy. According to the DOE’s website, HMSC researchers “will conduct visual surveys and acoustic monitoring of marine mammals and seabirds to develop predictive density maps of species present in potential wind energy development areas on the West Coast.”
“Moving rapidly to a clean energy future requires having the best and brightest minds provide robust research on ways to make that vision a reality,” said Merkley. “I am pleased OSU will use this grant to lead efforts on offshore wind development research and find ways for offshore wind to safely coexist with our wildlife and fisheries.”
The grant is jointly funded and administered by the DOE’s National Oceanographic Partnership Program and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, in coordination with other energy and ocean wildlife organizations such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service, the California Ocean Protection Council, and the California Energy Commission.
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