
Offshore wind energy development is steadily advancing in California but lurching in Oregon, where a federal ocean area lease sale auction has been called off.
Lease sales for areas offshore of California’s Humboldt County and Morro Bay topped $775 million two years ago. Five companies entered the leases and are working on design, construction and operations plans which will eventually be put to public environmental review.
Oregon was following the same path until late September, when a planned lease auction for an ocean area offshore of Brookings was canceled by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).
Wind energy development is generally challenged by supply chain and power contract uncertainties. But in Oregon, there are political obstacles that are even more daunting.
Controversy rumbled as soon as BOEM identified two Oregon lease auction areas, the second offshore of Coos Bay.
At a spring 2023 meeting, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) called for scrapping the maps and starting from scratch, disagreeing with BOEM’s conclusion that commercial fishing would only be minimally impacted.
Concerns about impacts intensified. A group of Native American tribes have sued BOEM in a bid to block the lease sale, and last September, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek wrote a letter to the agency asking that the auction be canceled.
As the Oct. 15 auction neared, it was obvious that the state was far from being all in on offshore wind, despite having legislation calling for net neutral carbon emissions by 2040.
In a statement, BOEM described the auction as being postponed, as only one of five would-be bidding companies showed interest.
The agency said it will “coordinate on potential leasing and support ongoing stakeholder engagement processes on broader offshore wind considerations, such as the state-led development of a strategic roadmap for offshore wind.”
A very different scenario is unfolding in California, where BOEM has released a draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), which, according to the agency, “analyzes programmatic avoidance, minimization, mitigation and monitoring measures that BOEM may require as conditions of its approval for any future proposed offshore wind projects in California.”
The statement is up for public review until Feb. 12.
Meanwhile, two ports are gearing up for major redevelopment to accommodate the assembly and deployment of huge wind turbines.
The port of Humboldt Bay is pursuing an $853 million upgrade project, with half the cost covered by a federal grant. And in November, the Port of Long Beach announced that new funding is “propelling” its upgrade project, dubbed Pier Wind.
The port in Long Beach is applying for a state grant, committing $14 million of its own money as a matching contribution. And the week before the port’s announcement, California voters approved Proposition 4, a bond measure that includes $475 million for port projects serving offshore wind.
Port of Long Beach Chief Operations Officer Dr. Noel Hacegaba said the port is confident in the state’s support of offshore wind.
“What’s different about what we’re doing here in California is the state has made this a goal,” he said. “And so far, the state of California has given every indication that (it is) serious about meeting this goal of 25 gigawatts (of offshore wind) by 2045.”
Passage of Prop 4 furthers that, he said.
“The approach we’re taking is we’re aligning our project and our strategy with all the steps that the state of California has taken,” he stated.
The Port of Long Beach is a large-scale commercial container port, so fishing impacts aren’t in the mix there. But offshore wind’s impacts on commercial fishing are substantial and, to an extent, impossible to address—BOEM’s environmental statement says that “similar” impacts will be seen with or without mitigation measures.
A statewide group—the California Fishermen’s Resiliency Association—is responding to the challenges. Negotiating “industry to industry” agreements is a key part of its work.
Ken Bates of the CFRA, and a longtime leading member of the Humboldt (Calif.) Fishermen’s Marketing Association, is part of a fishermen’s working group “coming up with language and guidance for avoidance and minimization of impacts” as well negotiating “compensatory mitigation” for loss of fishing grounds.
On the governmental side, Bates said a sought-after result is “a statewide strategy” on protecting coastal fishing communities from loss of fishing areas and harbor impacts.
Bates estimated that development of the state’s ocean lease areas would displace 4,000 square miles of fishing grounds north of San Francisco. Another 1,000 square miles would potentially be lost to cable line maintenance buffers.
“Then it gets down to determining the value of the fishing grounds that are lost and that value isn’t just for one year, it’s for the next 30 or 40 years,” he said.
The CFRA is advocating for a “resiliency funding” program to be used by coastal communities “to keep fishermen fishing,” Bates continued, with potential payouts in the form of subsidies for expenses like fuel and observers, and fishing-related port infrastructure projects.
Though there’s strong political support for California offshore wind energy, market uncertainty may have played a role in the postponement of Oregon’s lease auction..
It also remains to be seen what type of care will be provided for fishing communities.
“We have been continually suggesting that these five lease areas be treated as pilot projects only and that there will be no more leases until these things have actually been built and are producing electricity for a few years,” Bates said.
Long Beach, Humboldt Ports Seal Floating Offshore Wind Development Agreement
The Port of Long Beach and Humboldt Bay Harbor District have signed an agreement with the California State Lands Commission to advance efforts to build the needed port infrastructure to facilitate offshore wind development, the Port of Long Beach announced Dec. 18.
The agreement solidifies the two ports’ position as sites for such development, and that all parties intend to move forward in a sustainable way that’s sensitive to affected communities.
The memorandum of understanding lists 11 areas that the state commission and ports intend to “confer, cooperate and exchange information consistent with the AB 525 Strategic Plan,” including staging and integration site planning and permitting, green port strategies and funding, according to the port.
“This important agreement parlays the foundations of offshore wind energy development—environmental protection, equity, public engagement and the economy—into a partnership that leads the way toward a clean energy future,” State Controller and Lands Commission Chair Malia Cohen said in a statement.
The Port of Long Beach is proposing development of the $4.7 billion “Pier Wind” project, a terminal for supporting the assembly of floating offshore wind turbines. If approved, project construction could begin as early as 2027, with the first 200 acres completed by 2031 and full completion by 2035, according to the POLB.
“We thank the State Lands Commission for focusing on a multi-port strategy that allows the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Humboldt to serve as turbine assembly sites in California’s floating offshore wind industry,” Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero said.
“This agreement, combined with the climate bond recently approved by California voters and the state’s commitment to procure up to 7.6 gigawatts of energy from offshore wind by 2035, gives the industry and California ports the confidence to invest in Long Beach’s Pier Wind and other complementary projects.”