California Opens Up To Ocean Wind

Something New May Be Rising Off California Coast: Wind Farms

Ivan Penn and Stanley Reed, October 19, 2018 (NY Times)

“…[The U.S. Interior Department has taken] the first steps to enable companies to lease waters in Central and Northern California for wind projects. If all goes as the state’s regulators and utilities expect, floating windmills could begin producing power within six years…[Several wind developers] are expected to enter the bidding, equipped with new [floating] technology that has already been tested in Europe…California’s determination to fully rely on carbon-free electricity by 2045, mandated in a bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in September, is forcing the state to look beyond solar power and land-based wind farms to meet the goal…[There are potential rewards from offshore wind development but] the potential impact on birds, fisheries and marine mammals will be closely scrutinized…

…California is a particularly opportune spot for such a project, given the length of its coast and the size of its population. And the coast offers an added advantage: winds over the ocean tend to pick up strength as the sun sets, just when the contribution of solar power is done for the day…[The Interior Department identified a parcel off Humboldt County in Northern California, and two sites in the Morro Bay area on the central coast for leases, 15 to 30 miles off the coast where they will be less visible from land and less of a hazard to seals and migratory birds.]…Offshore wind projects in California will largely benefit from existing power lines to keep costs down. Several power plants along the coast have closed or will be retired because of pollution and other environmental concerns…” click here for more

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