What's Next For California's Offshore Wind Industry?

In July, the California Energy Commission unanimously approved a sweeping plan to develop a massive floating offshore wind industry in ocean waters — a first-of-its-kind undertaking that will require billions in public and private investments and could transform parts of the coast.

The new state plan sets the path for harnessing wind power from hundreds of giant turbines, each as tall as a 70-story building, floating in the ocean about 20 miles off Humboldt Bay and Morro Bay. The untapped energy is expected to become a major power source as California electrifies vehicles and switches to clean energy.

Adam Stern, Executive Director of Offshore Wind California, an industry group, outlines the next steps now that the plan has been unveiled. “The two next most important steps have to do with ports and transmission in ports. We need to get the areas in our ports ready to support offshore wind so they can withstand the weight of the towers and turbines that will be assembled on them,” Stern said. “We also need to develop the supply chain that will be centered in perhaps as many as a dozen ports along California’s coast.” 

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By:  Keith Mizuguchi
Source: KQED

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