Offshore Wind Energy - Humboldt Waterkeeper

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:

California Hits Milestones Toward 100% Clean Energy — but Has a Long Way to Go

California has given America a glimpse at what running one of the world’s largest economies on renewable energy might look like. The state recently hit a milestone: 100 days this year with 100% carbon-free, renewable electricity for at least a part of each day, as tracked by Stanford University engineering Professor Mark Z. Jacobson. The state notched the milestone while — so far — avoiding blackouts and emergency power reductions this year, even with the hottest July on record.

That progress is largely due to the substantial public and private investments in renewable energy — particularly batteries storing solar power to use when the sun isn’t shining, according to energy experts. But California still has a long way to go to stop burning fossil fuels for electricity. Natural gas, which emits greenhouse gases and air pollutants, remains its single largest source of electricity. Just over half of power generated for Californians in 2022 came from solar, wind, other renewables and nuclear power, while 36% came from natural gas plants.

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Simulation of offshore wind assembly to be unveiled at meeting Tuesday

On Tuesday evening, the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District will provide an additional look at how exactly the offshore wind project slated for waters roughly 20 miles west of Eureka could proceed.

The Harbor District is holding a community meeting to show simulations of future operations at the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Multipurpose Marine Terminal, located between the town of Samoa and Tuluwat Island, from a few angles.

“We’re really excited for the public to see this,” said Chris Mikkelsen, the Harbor District’s executive director. While drafts of the site plan have been available to view for quite some time, these images are new.

The planned 180-acre terminal is set to host the staging, storing and manufacturing of components and assembly of massive turbines. These will be then towed and installed in lease areas in the Pacific Ocean, like one roughly 20 miles west of Eureka and other projects off the coasts of California and Oregon.

How large the turbines built locally will be is still to be determined, but they could reach around 900 feet high. Humboldt Waterkeeper, a local environmental advocacy organization, noted this is about three times taller than the former pulp mill smokestack in Samoa. The terminal will be built on what was once part of the former Hammond Lumber Mill.

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Offshore Wind Terminal Visual Simulations

In July, the Humboldt Bay Harbor District unveiled visual simulations of the proposed heavy lift terminal in Samoa, where offshore wind turbines would be built and stored temporaily before being installed 20-30 miles offshore. Drone image by Oren Nardi.

Humboldt County environmental organizations launch offshore wind website

A few local environmental organizations have put together a new website, which was announced on Monday, with aims to answer questions about offshore wind and help people learn about the massive projects in development stages in Humboldt County.

“I am currently reading through questions that people are submitting and writing up new answers. And so if you have a question about offshore wind that you want someone, who isn’t a developer, a representative of a local environmental nonprofit to research and try to answer, this is the place to do it,” said Matthew Simmons, climate attorney for the Environmental Protection Information Center in Arcata, reached by phone Tuesday.

The website, www.northcoastoffshorewind.org, has contributions from EPIC, Humboldt Waterkeeper and the Redwood Region Climate and Community Resilience Hub (part of the Humboldt Area Foundation).

What’s RWE’s next move in Humboldt County offshore wind? Surveys

Next week, the company that leased swaths of ocean space roughly 20 miles west of Eureka to build offshore wind turbines will begin gathering data on the site’s biological and geographic characteristics.

RWE contracted with ocean surveying company Argeo to examine the ocean floor and identify its plants, animals and geographic specifications, data that could help determine where exactly the floating turbines are placed. The area off the coast of Samoa where the turbines would be built doesn’t have much high-quality data about it, said Rob Mastria, RWE’s project director for Canopy, their offshore wind project off the county’s coast.