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:

Terra-Gen Critics Said We Should Wait for Offshore Wind, But Will That Project Spark an Even Nastier Debate?

Last month, under intense public pressure, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors rejected the $300 million Humboldt Wind Energy Project, bringing a dramatic end to the most polarizing countywide policy debate this community has seen in years.

But if anyone thought we could sidestep controversy by moving wind energy proposals from land to sea, well, think again. In conversations with the Outpost, local and regional stakeholders expressed serious concerns about a range of issues, including conflicts with the fishing industry, impacts to birds and marine life and more.

First offshore wind farm on West Coast is one step closer: Redwood Coast Energy Authority submits lease application

The Redwood Coast Energy Authority, with support from several private companies, is one step closer to developing the first offshore wind farm on the West Coast, according to its executive director Matthew Marshall.The authority, along with Principle Power, Aker Solutions, and EDP Renewables, recently submitted a lease application to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. According to Marshall, if approved the lease would give the authority and its partners “site control” over an ocean area of approximately 70 square miles, meaning they have exclusive project rights to that area. This doesn’t mean the project will span 70 square miles, Marshall said, instead it defines the boundaries of where Redwood Coast could put the project.

The proposed wind farm would consist of 10 to 15 wind turbines, capable of producing 100-150 megawatts, according to Marshall. “That’s enough energy for about 70,000 households,” Marshall said. “Offshore wind is the largest untapped resource we have.” Jennifer Kalt, director of Humboldt Baykeeper, underlined the reality of the situation, saying that ultimately we “need to get off fossil fuels.”

“We don’t know a lot about the critters that live that far offshore,” Kalt said. “The first step is getting info from surveys they’ll be doing.”

She added, “Humboldt Baykeeper is cautiously optimistic because it’s a local government agency, the board is composed of elected officials who have exhibited concern and value on working with communities and stake holders.”

Emphasizing the importance of the ocean to Humboldt’s community, Kalt said, “we need to slow down the effects of climate change on the ocean. Sea level change and ocean acidification (caused by climate change) will affect this area significantly,” she said.

This project, Kalt said, provides an opportunity to “have a community scale offshore wind project that can be developed in a way that’s protective to bay and marine life. Working with different stakeholders that rely on the health of the bay is important and might be what ultimately makes or breaks the project.”

The Humboldt Bay area may become the site of the first offshore wind energy project on the west coast of North America. The pieces are quickly falling into place for Redwood Coast Energy Authority to become the first local government entity to apply for a commercial offshore wind lease from the federal government. Unlike land-based projects, this lease bid would be just the beginning of a series of studies and related permits that could culminate in project development in 5-7 years.

RCEA is preparing to submit a “lease bid” with an established offshore wind company for a pilot project 20-30 miles offshore that would include 10-15 floating wind turbines.

Why Off the Humboldt Coast?

Why here? In short, we have wind, and lots of it. While this is not news to anyone, it may come as a surprise that this stretch of coast has some of the highest wind energy potential in North America. And when the U.S. Navy raised concerns about new offshore wind along most of the California coast last November because of potential conflicts with military activities, federal waters off Humboldt and Mendocino Counties (two of the few places that the Navy greenlighted) became the focus of wind energy proponents. Humboldt Bay is regarded as a good fit for such a project, with docks for building the floating wind turbines, a coastal population center and power grid tie-in, and no barriers to block barges needed to tow the 600-foot tall windfloats from the docks to the open ocean. Many are hopeful that floating offshore wind can help move the state away from fossil fuels.

Interview with RCEA's Matthew Marshall on the Proposed Floating Offshore Wind Farm

4/13/18

Matthew Marshall, executive director of the Redwood Coast Energy Authority, explains why a public-private partnership wants to build what could be the country’s first floating wind farm, in the Pacific Ocean.

The waves crashing along the coast of Humboldt County, California, make visible just how much energy exists offshore. If all goes well, within a decade the Pacific Ocean in Northern California will be generating electricity from the first offshore floating wind farm set to be built in the United States.

Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA) is a joint powers agency in the city of Eureka, California, that aggregates electricity demand on behalf of the county, a water district and seven cities. RCEA buys much of its energy from various renewable sources on the West Coast, but executive director Matthew Marshall wants to obtain more locally generated electricity. To that end, RCEA announced on April 2 that it had selected a consortium of five companies for a public-private partnership to develop a 100–150 megawatt (MW) floating wind farm 30km (20 miles) off the coast from Eureka. The group consists of Principle Power, EDPR Offshore North America, Aker Solutions, H.T. Harvey & Associates and Herrera Environmental Consultants.

Offshore wind developers look to the North Coast

11/9/17

State and federal officials are engaged in an intensive planning process for the first auction of zones for development of giant wind farms in the Pacific.

But right before the first auction was to be announced, opposition emerged from an unexpected source: the U.S. Navy. After a year and a half of public hearings and outreach by a state-federal task force, the Navy suddenly signaled in August that it would veto the ocean area off San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties that was expected for the first wind farms. What’s more, the Navy claimed the entire offshore zone stretching from Los Angeles north to Big Sur, comprising 36,000 square miles, saying it is needed for military testing and thus is off-limits to wind farms.

State and federal officials are negotiating with the Navy to find a solution. But if the Navy refuses to budge, state officials will need to switch to their designated Plan B — a series of potential areas off Sonoma, Humboldt and Del Norte counties, where the Navy has raised no objections. Although interconnection to the grid would be more difficult in these areas, they would be suitable for initial wind farm projects while negotiations continue farther south.

Page 12 of 12