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:

Humboldt County supervisors approve a slate of offshore wind actions

On Tuesday, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved forming two ad hoc committees to work on offshore wind-related issues, authorized the County Administrative Officer to execute a $851,500 grant agreement for offshore wind activity, and enacted agreements with the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District, the city of Eureka and other local and tribal agencies to collaborate on port and wind development.

Offshore wind in Humboldt County is still in a very early stage, though California North Floating LLC placed the winning bids for the area where turbines would be placed roughly 20 miles off the coast of Eureka. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is still reviewing the bids, but once the leases are granted, the site must be surveyed and a plethora of permits must be issued.

“There’ll be a couple years of site assessments and surveys. After that, the concept of operation plan process will begin,” Scott Adair, Humboldt County’s director of economic development, said. “We are many years away from actual turbines being put into the water.”

Off the East Coast, a Massive Network of Wind Turbines Is Coming—Along With New Risks for Migrating Birds

In the United States 17 offshore wind sites are under development in the Atlantic, from Cape Cod at the north end down to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Once completed these wind farms will create a network of turbines along the East Coast continental shelf like nothing else on Earth.

While nobody knows what toll the looming structures might take on seabirds, scientists say gannets may be especially vulnerable. North American populations have stopped expanding over the past decade. Scientists pin the leveling off on warming oceans near their breeding grounds that have altered their prey base. Here, on their wintering grounds, climate change is evident, too. A decade ago Patteson and I would never have seen shrimp boats in January: Back then the North Carolina shrimp harvest was negligible in cold winter waters. Now nearly 40 percent of the annual harvest is caught between December and March.

Crowley’s plans for offshore wind complex at California’s Humboldt Bay

On October 27th Crowley Wind Services signed an agreement with the Port of Humboldt Bay to exclusively negotiate to be the developer and operator of a terminal to serve as California's first hub for offshore wind energy installations.

If an agreement is reached, Crowley will be the exclusive developer/operator of the wind terminal at Humboldt Bay.

In an interview with the American Journal of Transportation, Jeff Andreini, Crowley Wind Services's Vice President, described the future terminal, saying “heavy lift ships will be used for the construction of the terminals. There will be heavy lift cranes that will … be doing the actual construction of the turbine. So, the terminal will do the construction of the floaters. The floaters will actually be built in Humboldt Bay and not in a foreign country.

There might be materials that might come from Asia, but the pre-construction will potentially (take place) in either San Francisco or Los Angeles and would be shipped to Humboldt Bay where the actual buildout will take place.”

Lease to Farm: The long road ahead for offshore wind

To much fanfare, two foreign multinational corporations combined to spend more than $331 million on winning bids for the chance to develop more than 207 square miles of ocean off Humboldt Bay into two floating offshore wind farms.

But the auctions also represent just a very early step in what promises to be a long process fraught with possible pitfalls and hurdles, potential risks and rewards, for Humboldt Bay and beyond. Here's a quick look at the road ahead.

Winning bids for North Coast offshore wind leases top $331 million

The first offshore wind lease auction off the California coast has come to a close and the winners of the leases have been announced.
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced the two leases in the Humboldt wind energy area, 21 miles off the coast of Humboldt Bay, were awarded to RWE Offshore Wind Holdings — 63,338 acres for $157.7 million — and California North Floating — 69,031 for $173.8 million — just before noon on Wednesday.

The five leases, including three roughly 80,000-acre apiece leases off Morro Bay, garnered $757.1 million for 373,268 acres capable of generating 4.6 gigawatts of energy, or enough power for 1.5 million homes. The winning bids off the coast of Morro Bay were from Equinor Wind US ($130 million), Central California Offshore Wind ($150.3 million), and Invenergy California Offshore ($145.3 million).

The lease sale is a significant milestone in meeting the state and nation’s goals to address the climate crisis. Wind energy is expected to complement solar energy, which is plentiful during the day while wind speeds are stronger when the sun goes down.

Humboldt County doesn’t have the transmission infrastructure in place to develop a large offshore wind farm right away, so developers are expected to start with a smaller community-scale project.