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An answer to meeting America’s growing energy needs could soon be blowing in the winds along the Oregon Coast.

Seattle-based Principle Power, a renewable energy technology developer, is working to deploy a floating wind turbine system in deep water off the coast of Coos Bay. The WindFloat system derives from technology used on floating oil rigs and looks to tap into an energy source that could be a game changer for the town.

鈥淭he floating platforms open up whole new areas to development that were previously unacceptable,鈥� said Kevin Banister, vice president of Principle Power.

Specifically, Principle Power is looking at ocean real estate 10 to 15 miles from shore, where the sea floor drops dramatically and wind resources are more consistent. The platform technology lets the company place 300-foot-tall turbines in water up to 1,640 feet deep; most existing ones are found in shallow water.

It’s an out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach to power generation. The company for the past year has tested a deep sea turbine, off the coast of Portugal, that has generated 3.5 gigawatt-hours of electricity.

The Coos Bay turbine could perform for 20 years and generate as much as 30 megawatts annually. But Principle Power also envisions constructing at the port of Coos Bay a production-and-launch facility that could send WindFloats around the world.

Banister said Japan, for instance, is hungry for renewable power solutions to replace nuclear resources in the wake of the 2011 tsunami. The fact that Japan is a mountainous island nation surrounded by deep water also makes WindFloats ideal.

The U.S. government sees huge potential for the technology. Principle Power this month was one of seven companies across the nation to receive federal funding for offshore wind power development. The Department of Energy gave each project $4 million to complete engineering and permitting. Within the next few years, the DOE will select three of the seven to receive more money for construction. Each of those companies could receive up to $47 million over four years, subject to congressional appropriations.

According to a new report by the DOE, offshore winds are able to generate 4,000 gigawatts of clean electricity 鈥� four times the nation’s current total generation capacity. Additionally, such an industry could support 200,000 manufacturing, construction, operation and supply chain jobs, and entice $70 billion in annual investments through 2030.

Principle Power’s objective is to break ground in 2016 and be up and running with the first turbine the following year. Banister said the biggest obstacle will be permitting.

鈥淲e’re proposing to do something that’s different on the West Coast,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat hasn’t been done before out here and we just need to make sure we work hard and closely with the (various) agencies so that we can do this (within the planned) time frame.鈥�

The fate of Principle Power’s project is tied somewhat to the fate of the $7.5 billion Jordan Cove project, a liquefied natural gas export facility that Canadian company Veresen Inc. hopes to build in Coos Bay.

Elise Hamner, communications and community affairs manager for the Port of Coos Bay, said the Jordan Cove team would pay for 85 percent of the cost to develop an access channel to the berthing area that Principle Power would need to launch its floats. Principle Power would place its facilities on port-owned land, and the port and Principle Power together would be responsible for the remaining 15 percent of the Oregon Gateway Marine Terminal Complex.

Hamner said the port is trying to set up a deal where the Jordan Cove team would purchase the power from the first WindFloat for use in its power-intensive natural-gas-liquefaction efforts.

The Jordan Cove project is in the permitting process; its team is hoping to begin construction by 2014. Opponents, leery of potential environmental and safety impacts, have formed a coalition called Citizens Against LNG. Hamner said she is not aware of any opposition to the wind project.

鈥淲e are right at the north end of primo wind resources; they are unsurpassed anywhere on the West Coast,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have a good marine services fleet that can service this type of equipment in the ocean. There are just a lot of things that line up to make it a good spot here at Coos Bay.鈥�

Another potential conflict for Principle Power may come from commercial fishermen who operate in the deep waters where the company hopes to anchor. Banister said he has worked closely with local fishermen to navigate those concerns.

On the horizon, Banister sees WindFloats dotting the Pacific from Coos Bay to Northern California. Such a system could help alleviate transmission bottlenecks between Oregon and California.

Principle Power’s budget for the first phase of the project is $4.8 million (including the DOE’s grant), but Banister said that will go up as the project progresses. He said it is too early to talk about the total economic impact, but noted that construction and operation of a WindFloat facility would be considerable 鈥� construction of the underwater power cables that transmit electricity from the turbines to shore can cost up to $2 million per mile.

鈥淗opefully this will be the first project among many as we think this industry is going to evolve out here,鈥� he said.