BRIEF OVERVIEW: In 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) awarded two lease areas 20-30 miles west of Humboldt Bay to offshore wind developers. BOEM’s environmental review process for offshore wind development is separated into two analyses. First is environmental impact assessment of the impacts of the studies that need to be done, such as the use of buoys, radar, and sonar. Next, after studies of the lease areas are complete, Environmental Impact Statements will analyze impacts from construction and operation of the wind turbines. These processes will be done separately for the two lease areas.Also in 2022, the California Coastal Commission reviewed plans for studying marine life in the proposed Humboldt Wind Energy Area, 21 miles west of Humboldt Bay. We submitted these comments and these comments. The plans for studies were approved with seven conditions, including a vessel speed limit of 10 knots (11.5 mph) to decrease the likelihood of collisions with whales and other marine mammals.In 2023, the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District issued a Notice of Preparation for the proposed Heavy Lift Terminal in Samoa. We submitted these comments on the potential impacts that must be addressed in the Draft EIR, which is being developed. For more info, check out the website we developed with colleagues at EPIC and CORE Hub: FAQs on Offshore Wind Energy.LATEST NEWS on Offshore Wind Energy:
A quick heads-up for people interested in offshore wind development on the North Coast — the Humboldt Bay Harbor District is hosting a public meeting in Arcata next week to discuss next steps for the Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal slated for the Samoa Peninsula.If you haven’t been following the project up to this point, now is a good time to tune in.Why now? The Harbor District is preparing environmental documents for the heavy lift marine terminal, and the agency needs community input to ensure the draft environmental impact report (DEIR) thoroughly addresses concerns surrounding the project. The June 24 meeting will be one of several opportunities the public will have to share their thoughts on the proposed project before the district recirculates the notice of preparation later this summer.Keep Reading
The Humboldt Bay Harbor District's Community Advisory Committee for the Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal Project is hosting a public meeting with technical speakers, a panel of experts, and multiple stations at which participants can talk to engineers and environmental scientists that are designing/permitting the project. It will be a good opportunity to learn more about what is being proposed, and to think about the impacts that should be analyzed, how those impacts can best be minimized or mitigated, and project alternatives that could lessen these impacts. When: Wednesday, June 24, 5:30-7:30 pm Where: Arcata Community Center (321 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway)
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The first draft of a big update to a 1980s-era Humboldt County planning document was released this week.The Humboldt Bay Area Plan Update, which sets the policy direction for land use of 21,500 acres in the unincorporated bay area and over 20 miles of coastline, has new modifications aimed at guiding the future of the region through a spread of projected hazards and opportunities. This draft has added guidelines for addressing hazards like sea level rise and tsunamis, and proposes new policies to set a process for approving offshore wind energy support facilities.
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Here along the rugged North Coast of California, there’s little to suggest that Humboldt Bay, with its eelgrass, oysters and osprey nests, will soon become a launchpad for one of the most ambitious clean energy projects in state history: a hub for floating offshore wind.The plan is for major private players to erect hundreds of wind turbines in the bay — each rising as high as L.A.’s tallest skyscrapers — then tow them out to the ocean.Some experts believe the wind project is critical to California’s goal of 100% carbon neutrality by 2045 and represents a key climate change solution. The state has a target of 25 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by that year — enough to power about 25 million homes — and nearly all of it would come from five lease areas in federal waters near Humboldt and Morro bays.Yet the technology for wind power that floats — as opposed to standard towers permanently attached to the sea floor — is just emerging, and has never been attempted in waters as deep as the Pacific off Northern California.
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An analysis of the costs ratepayers would bear associated with adding infrastructure to Humboldt County to transmit energy generated by offshore wind found the average California household would pay about $1.68 per year more.The analysis, released this month by the Schatz Energy Research Center at Cal Poly Humboldt, found the average cost to ratepayers for building and maintaining the infrastructure would peak at $4.52 per year in 2035 and then decline over time.
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The Humboldt Bay Harbor District's Community Advisory Committee for the Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal Project is hosting a public meeting with technical speakers, a panel of experts, and multiple stations at which participants can talk to engineers and environmental scientists that are designing/permitting the project. It will be a good opportunity to learn more about what is being proposed, and to think about the impacts that should be analyzed, how those impacts can best be minimized or mitigated, and project alternatives that could lessen these impacts. When: Wednesday, June 24, 5:30-7:30 pm 
