A Landscape Approach to Multifunctional Floating Offshore Wind Energy in Coos Bay, Oregon

Abstract

In an urgent call for climate actions and a Green New Deal, policy such as the “Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act of 2020” looks to offshore renewable energy to aid in the goal of a clean electricity system while also looking to restoration and conservation of blue carbon habitats, prioritization of regenerative ocean farming, and protection of front-line communities. In recent years, off-shore wind has been pursued across the world as a promising way to mitigate climate change. The history of green-on-green conflicts point to how poor planning of large-scale renewable energy infrastructure and lack of community engagement leads to compromise in protecting critical habitats and communities. To address this challenge, this project questions how landscape architecture can play a key role in serving the interests of public and local stakeholders while addressing the green-on green conflicts around renewable energy development. I offer a landscape approach which combines multi stakeholder and multifunctional landscape techniques through a systems thinking approach. This project shows how this multi-functional landscape framework contributes to creating environmental, social, and economic synergies around off-shore wind farm development in the era of climate change