Abstract
Principle Power, Inc. (PP) is pleased to submit this unsolicited request for a United States Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) commercial lease in accordance with the requirements of 30 CFR § 585.230. Principle Power expects to establish a project company to which the requested lease may be assigned in the future.
Principle Power and partners propose a pre-commercial, pilot-scale wind farm for deployment offshore of Coos Bay, Oregon. The 30 megawatt (MW) project, named the WindFloat Pacific Offshore Wind Demonstration Project (“WindFloat Pacific Project” or “WFP”), consists of five WindFloat units outfitted with Siemens Wind Turbine 6.0 MW, direct-drive, offshore wind turbines and would be sited in 300-400 meters of water approximately 15 nautical miles (nm) (24 kilometers [km]) from shore. An offshore grid and subsea cable would be used to export produced electricity to facilities at the planned South Dunes Power Plant, a combined cycle natural gas power plant associated with the Jordan Cove Energy Project. The Jordan Cove Energy Project is a $7.5 billion (US dollars) liquid natural gas export facility currently under development at the International Port of Coos Bay. Jordan Cove Energy and Principle Power are negotiating a power purchase agreement with a term and price sufficient to meet the economic needs of the WindFloat Pacific Project. Infrastructure planning in conjunction with Jordan Cove Energy is already underway at the Port of Coos Bay. Additional development funds are being allocated towards the development of a multi-purpose berth that would facilitate efficient WindFloat deployments. Principle Power plans for facilities at the Port of Coos Bay to serve as the final assembly, hull load-out, turbine installation, and future maintenance base for WindFloat units.
The WindFloat, a semi-submersible floating foundation for multi-megawatt offshore wind turbines, was developed by Principle Power specifically to address current cost, risk, and execution barriers in the offshore wind industry. The WindFloat Pacific Project units, including the turbine, will be assembled and tested on-shore or quayside in a controlled environment. No heavy lift operations or commissioning of the turbines will be conducted at sea. As a result, transport and installation of the unit is simplified, requires less-costly vessels, and is not subject to the same weather restrictions as offshore wind projects employing bottom-fixed foundations.
The wind resource off the Oregon, Washington, and California coasts is robust. The WindFloat Pacific Project units will be deployed in water depths of approximately 1,200 feet (365 meters), allowing development to occur outside of areas where existing uses might conflict. A preliminary analysis of the Coos Bay area’s wind resource and known environmental and stakeholder constraints suggests that the proposed location is favorable for project development.
The proposed project plans for five WindFloat units to be arranged in an array with one row of three units and one row of two units; the final configuration will be determined as the engineering, leasing and environmental assessments progress. Each unit will be moored using vertical load anchors, a technology that requires no piling and is well suited to deep and variable seabed conditions. The installation is completely reversible (no permanent infrastructure will be left on the sea bed upon decommissioning), and acoustic disturbances are expected to be minimal. Principle Power and project partners will conduct comprehensive stakeholder interviews and environmental/existing-use analyses prior to final site selection.