Offshore wind farms may face more public opposition than their onshore counterparts because of the potential to cause natural damage. Offshore developers are facing mounting pressure from coastal communities and protesters, reinforcing calls for offshore turbines to be moved further out into oceans or even abandoned all together.
The “wind farms to be built in 2021” is a comment that was taken on an article about offshore wind farms. The article states that these wind farms will be built off the coast of England and Scotland.
The “Environmental Analysis” for the “Morro Bay Wind Energy Area” has begun at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
Neil Farrell contributed to this article.
THE CENTRAL COAST OF THE UNITED STATES — A federal regulator put the plan into an environmental assessment phase in November, paving the way for a massive offshore wind energy farm off the coast of San Luis Obispo County.
The Bureau of Water Energy Management (BOEM) stated on Nov. 12 that it has started a “Environmental Analysis” (EA) for the “Morro Bay Wind Energy Area” (WEA), a 376 square mile (240,898 acres) area of ocean situated 20 miles off the coast at San Simeon.
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The National Environmental Policy Act, which is the federal counterpart of the “California Environmental Quality Act,” or CEQA, requires an EA as part of the environmental assessment process. Despite the fact that the two procedures approach from opposing angles, they end up at the same place: an ostensibly ecologically sound project with every consequence avoided or reduced.
“BOEM will now prepare an Environmental Assessment as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, to consider potential impacts from site characterization activities [e.g., biological, archeological, geological, and geophysical surveys] and site assessment activities (e.g., installation of meteorological buoys] within the WEA,” according to the announcement on November 12. The EA will be prepared by BOEM and will include a public comment period as well as two virtual public sessions.”
BOEM will accept public comments through Jan. 11 at 11:59 p.m., according to the announcement.
“After taking into account all public feedback, BOEM will release a draft EA for public analysis and discussion.” The EA’s evaluations will aid BOEM in deciding whether to proceed with a planned lease sale in one or more areas.”
Trident Winds began looking into offshore wind energy in 2016 when the business enquired about the possibility of establishing a 1,000-megawatt wind farm off the coast of California. Trident’s first target was a location 22 miles off the coast of Cayucos in 20,000 feet of water.
The Navy, however, opposed to the region since it is located in the middle of the Lemoore Naval Air Station’s flight training zone. BOEM responded by asking whether any additional corporations were interested, and received many answers from energy companies in the United States and Europe. There are now over a dozen corporations interested, including numerous oil companies.
The state of California is interested because of its ambitious climate change objectives, which aim to lead California towards a future where all energy production is carbon-free. Since the state no longer considers nuclear energy to be desirable and will be fully nuclear-free after Diablo Canyon shuts in 2025, and no hydroelectric projects are being considered, wind and solar are the only options.
Trident has formed Castle Winds with German energy provider EnBW since starting the dialogue, and is aggressively seeking an operational license. The City of Morro Bay and Castle Wind have signed a memorandum of understanding in which the City has thrown its support to Castle’s project and Castle has agreed to financially help the City.
Castle Wind’s management team contacted the Navy and worked out the present site for the offshore wind farm off the coast of San Simeon. The Navy refused to give up another nearby possible location south of Point Buchon off the coast of Diablo Canyon, thus it was shelved.
Another region off the coast of Humboldt County is being considered, but it lacks what Morro Bay has: a simple and existing link to the power grid, as well as capacity on the existing high voltage transmission cables that enter and leave the back of the Morro Bay Power Plant.
President Biden just signed an executive order requiring the construction of 4.5 gigawatts of offshore wind on the Pacific Coast (a gigawatt is 1,000 megawatts). The Morro Bay Power Plant, for example, had a capacity of little over 1,000 MW when it was active.
However, that plant has been inactive since 2014. Large commercial solar facilities erected in the California Valley few years ago took advantage of the available capacity on transmission cables to deliver their electricity into the power grid.
The BOEM expanded the initially designated region to 399 square miles as a result of Biden’s directive and its emphasis on offshore wind energy potential, but this most recent declaration decreased it back down to 376 square miles.
“As we shift to clean, renewable energy, offshore wind provides a major opportunity for California and our country.” BOEM Director Amanda Lefton said, “Today’s news reflects substantial progress toward that future.” “As the process unfolds, BOEM is dedicated to environmental evaluations, which are necessary for a successful resource management program, as well as active public participation.”
Though little has been publicly announced since the project began in 2016, a visit to the BOEM website for the project (www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/morro-bay-wind-energy-area) reveals that the agency has been busy studying various aspects of the project, including “Potential Impacts of Submarine Power Cables on Crab Harvest,” and “Humpback Whale Encounter with Offshore Wind Mooring Lines and Inter-Array Cable
Many of these particular studies have already been conducted, some in collaboration with research institutions and others with the California Energy Commission.
A summary report from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is available at boem.gov/sites/default/files/documents/renewable-energy/Selected-BOEM-Research-Renewable-CA 2.pdf.
How to properly and securely moor floating turbines that rise 600 feet tall from the ocean surface to the tip of the 200-foot fan blades anchored in 800-1,000 feet of water is one of the many technical issues the wind farms confront.
Castle Wind lists four kinds of anchors on its website, ranging from massive concrete blocks and anchor chains to so-called torpedo anchors, which involve dropping a long steel tube with a tip on one end down the side of a workboat and fast sinking into the bottom.
It would be linked to the floating turbine by mooring chains with links weighing up to 350 pounds apiece.
A second, and arguably more difficult, issue is determining where to construct the requisite maintenance yard. According to a Cal Poly feasibility assessment, a wind farm would need at least 40 acres of land for a maintenance yard, which would be next to a deep sea port with a large floating work dock.
In announcing his executive order, President Biden promoted the idea as having the potential to generate thousands of well-paying union jobs. But where are those jobs most likely to be created?
In a recent interview, State Senator John Laird (D-17th District) was queried about this since no such location exists in San Luis Obispo County, and Sen. Laird said without hesitation, “Port Hueneme,” which is situated in Ventura County near Oxnard.
The impacts of having to tow 600-foot tall turbines with a boat several hundred feet in length from Port Hueneme around Point Conception to San Simeon and back for maintenance will likely have a significant impact on air quality, as well as the operations and maintenance costs, which are typically borne by electricity ratepayers.
Another potential issue is the Morro Bay area’s proximity to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary; in fact, the wind farm area under consideration hugs the western edges of that sanctuary, as well as the northern edges of the proposed Chumash Heritage NMS, which the federal government has recently moved forward (visit sanctuaries.noaa.gov/chumash-heritage).
BOEM expects to finish its environmental assessment in the spring and to organize a lease auction in the summer of 2022.
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s dedication to both wind energy development and the sanctuary designation process in the region illustrates their commitment to these vital and complementary aims,” BOEM added.
On BOEM’s website, go to boem.gov/MorroBayEA for more information on the Morro Bay WEA, public meetings, and how to comment.
Resources may be found at boem.gov/MorroBayEA.
Page 1: Biological Studies; Page 7: Cultural and Archaeological Studies; Page 8: Information Synthesis Studies; Page 9: Physical Oceanography and Geology Studies; Page 10: Resource, Technology, and Infrastructure Studies
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The “state offshore wind targets” are the goals that a state has set to have their share of renewable energy. These goals can be achieved through offshore wind farms.
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