Report: Stalled energy projects cost Oregon 21,000 jobs

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A report released Thursday indicates that Oregon has missed out on 21,000 jobs due to stymied energy projects.

Research by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce indicates that nine stalled or canceled energy projects in Oregon have cost the state $6.8 billion and 21,200 jobs.

Blaming activists, broken permitting processes and a system that allows multiple lawsuits to slow — or stop — progress on the ground, the report speaks out against NIMBY-ism. However, some of the projects included in its Oregon tally were scrapped for reasons other than lawsuits or unfriendly communities.

The nine projects identified by the study include, not surprisingly, four liquefied natural gas — or LNG — projects. But the list also includes two wave energy projects, two wind energy projects and one solar energy project. Not all of the identified projects are dead, some are merely delayed in the approval process.

The stymied energy projects the report identifies are:

• West Ridge and East Ridge Wind Projects in Harney County: Status of the project which involves 200 wind turbines, is listed in progress with opposition from the Oregon National Desert Association, the Audobon Society of Portland and the Nature Conservancy.

• First Wind Cascade Wind Farm: Status of the project, which would have involved 40 turbines in Wasco County, is dead because of difficulties with the siting process and opposition from local residents. According to a story in the Portland Business Journal, Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council said that the project had too many problems to be approved.

• Oregon Ocean Wave Energy Project in Florence: A permit filed in 2007 by Oceanlinx to install offshore wave energy devices was withdrawn the following year. There was some opposition from the Oregon Surfrider Foundation. Oceanlinx, which has offices in Australia and London, lists Hawaii and Mexico on its website as its current areas of interest in North America.

• West Linn Highway Solar Project: Status of this project is listed as likely, despite some opposition from residents. The project, an expansion of a solar installation at the intersection of Interstates 5 and 205, isn't expected to be financed by the Oregon Department of Transportation until this year or next year.

• Finavera Renewable Makah Bay Wave Energy Project: This project, which was actually planned for Makah Bay off the coast of Washington, was scrapped by Finavera for economic reasons. The report cites opposition from the Washington Department of Ecology. However, the company changed its name this year to Finavera Wind Energy and quit all of its wave energy development in 2009.

• Port Westward LNG Terminal: This project was declared dead in 2006 after widespread opposition to having a natural gas terminal on the Columbia River.

• Jordan Cove LNG in Coos Bay: This project is moving forward with opposition from the Oregon Sierra Club, Citizens Against LNG, Oregon Wild and others.

• Bradwood Landing LNG: This project was indefinitely suspended last year after the company behind the project, NorthernStar Natural Gas, cited delays in state and federal permitting. There was also widespread opposition to the project, at the mouth of the Columbia River, from environmental groups.

• Oregon LNG in Warrenton: This LNG terminal, also at the mouth of the Columbia River, is listed by the report as "likely" despite opposition. However, The Oregonian reported Thursday that Clatsop County Commissioners voted to revoke their approval of the project.

The study was conducted by Steve Pociask, president of the American Consumer Institute, and Joseph Fuhr, professor of economics at Widener University and senior fellow at the American Consumer Institute.

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