Key Highlights:
- The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has released a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) aimed at evaluating five offshore wind lease sites off California’s coast. This review also proposes various strategies to reduce environmental and wildlife impacts.
- This announcement comes in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s re-election, who had previously expressed intentions to halt offshore wind initiatives on his first day in office. California has set a goal to deploy 25 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy by 2045.
- The new draft EIS has started a 90-day period for public comments, which will conclude on February 12.
Insights:
The California Energy Commission has plans to roll out between 2 GW and 5 GW of offshore wind power by 2030, followed by an increased deployment in the subsequent years. The five lease areas in Humboldt and Morro Bay, spanning over 373,268 acres, have a collective potential capacity of 4.6 GW. These areas were the first to be auctioned off by BOEM in 2022, marking a significant step in the state’s offshore wind journey.
BOEM noted that this is only their second regional analysis for offshore renewable energy across multiple lease areas. The agency determined this comprehensive review was essential due to the lease areas’ proximity and their anticipated future development plans.
Offshore Wind California, a coalition supporting the industry, hailed the report, stating it is a significant move towards establishing floating offshore wind in California. They emphasized that the review will facilitate timely decision-making and encourage measures to safeguard local communities as well as marine and environmental health.
The draft EIS compared three different scenarios for development:
- Alternative A: No development in the lease areas.
- Alternative B: Development occurs without any mitigation measures.
- Alternative C: Development proceeds alongside proposed mitigation strategies.
Proposed mitigation measures under Alternative C include monitoring construction noise and avoiding harmful substances. Despite certain potential risks to marine wildlife associated with increased vessel traffic, BOEM indicated that the anticipated mortality risk for local whale populations is low without mitigation.
Regarding sound and noise generated during construction, the report suggests that while certain high-level sounds may disturb marine life temporarily, the overall impact can be minimal with proper mitigation measures in place. Interestingly, even without any development, existing environmental trends still pose a threat to local wildlife.
In terms of the impact on bird populations, the operation of wind turbines could lead to long-term consequences like mortality and habitat displacement, though some birds might benefit from increased foraging opportunities around turbine installations.
Moving forward, BOEM plans to conduct more detailed environmental assessments for each specific wind energy project once they receive individual development plans from leaseholders.