Today is the deadline for the public to weigh in on an environmental assessment of the newly designated Morro Bay Wind Energy Area.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is accepting comments emailed by or postmarked no later than 11:59 p.m. PT on Jan. 11.
In November, BOEM designated 20 miles offshore the central California coastline and roughly 240,898 acres as the Morro Bay WEA, a potential space for offshore wind energy development.
The Biden Administration announced in May that it would open California’s northern and central coasts to such projects as part of a larger effort to create jobs by generating 30 gigawatts of domestic offshore wind by 2030.
Some West Coast fishermen and their advocates, however, have expressed concern that such developments could affect the way they fish in the area.
The assessment will look at the possible impacts within the WEA, including biological, archeological, geological and geophysical characteristics of the site and activities such as the installation of meteorological buoys.
Once input is included, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management plans to put out a draft environmental assessment for the public to view and comment. The assessment will help BOEM decide whether to pursue a potential lease sale in the area.
In the meantime, the Bureau has completed a review of the Construction and Operations Plan for the Vineyard Wind project. BOEM plans to look at 10 other COPs and review at least five more by 2025.
More information is available at www.boem.gov/MorroBayEA.
