Offshore Wind FAQ

Offshore wind is the generation of electricity from wind turbines installed many miles offshore in the ocean. Wind turbines are designed to harness the kinetic energy of the wind to produce carbon-free, renewable, and reliable electricity. Winds off the coast are typically high-speed and consistent, making them a powerful and abundant clean energy source. The first turbines planned for the Pacific Coast will be 20 to 30 miles from land and will utilize floating foundations to accommodate the Pacific’s deep seas.

Offshore wind energy is a large-scale clean energy resource that promotes state energy reliability and national energy independence. Offshore wind paired with other clean resources such as solar, land-based wind, energy storage, and geothermal will help the state transition off a reliance on in-state and imported fossil fuel and nuclear energy. California’s AB 525 blueprint foresees offshore wind providing 13% of the state’s power supply, generating 25 gigawatts (GW) of electricity by 2045. This supplies enough power for approximately 25 million homes.

Offshore wind has unique attributes to help a clean grid meet demand all hours of the year, even as the consumption of electricity is set to increase. Energy generated from offshore wind is produced consistently in the evening, at night, and in the summer – when the California grid can be most stressed.

Offshore wind is also a uniquely efficient renewable energy resource due to its high-capacity factor, meaning it produces energy 40-50% of the hours in a year compared to other variable resources that typically produce energy 20-30% of the time.

Finally, as California and the western region seek to decarbonize the electric grid and electrify buildings and transportation systems, we will need huge quantities of clean energy. Offshore wind is a domestic energy opportunity which will help California supply the estimated 180 GW of new clean energy it needs by 2045 (three times the quantity of renewable energy online or under contract today in the state.) And because offshore wind is sited in the ocean, it doesn’t compete for land with other competing land-uses.

The first five offshore wind leases were awarded to Equinor Offshore, Invenergy, Golden State Wind, RWE, and Vineyard Offshore and will be located off the Central and Northern Coasts of California. The commercial-scale offshore wind projects, which would have a capacity of up to 10 GW, must receive permits and approvals from state and federal authorities before construction can begin and have an estimated timeline of ten to twelve years until completion of the first projects. The leaseholders are currently moving forward with Tribal and community engagement, site surveys and assessments, and project design and planning. They expect to begin applying for federal permits around 2028.

Offshore wind turbines work like modern land-based wind turbines, harnessing the energy of wind to turn blades that rotate a generator, producing electricity. Offshore wind turbines typically have larger blades, producing more power, more often. With individual turbines capable of generating tens of megawatts of electricity, Offshore wind turbines are highly efficient. The largest offshore wind turbines can power an average home for a day with just a single blade rotation. California’s initial offshore wind developments will utilize floating offshore wind technology with floating turbine foundations connected to the sea floor by various moorings and anchors for stability. Offshore wind foundations, towers, and turbines are specially designed for the marine environment.

Offshore wind energy will be transmitted from an offshore wind farm to our state’s onshore electric grid through undersea cables. Electricity generated by offshore wind turbines will be collected at offshore substations, then transported through these cables to onshore substations, where it will be integrated into the grid. Upgrades to the state’s long-distance transmission system will be needed to deliver offshore wind to communities around the state.

Offshore wind turbines will be assembled port-side at deep water ports with sufficient space, wharf strength, and access out to sea. In California, the Port of Long Beach and Port of Humboldt are the best candidates for this staging and integration function. Major components, like blades, towers, foundations, and nacelles, will be transported to the staging and integration ports primarily by ship for assembly into full-standing turbines. Erected turbines will be towed out to lease areas and anchored into place at specific locations within the offshore wind farm array.

Upgrading port infrastructure is vital for the offshore wind industry. The Port of Long Beach is planning the largest offshore wind turbine assembly in the United States, and federal infrastructure grants for an offshore wind terminal at Humboldt Bay are already being awarded for site design and planning. These projects will create jobs, bring economic development to coastal communities, and create the port infrastructure necessary to build a growing and dynamic offshore wind industry in California.

Offshore wind will be part of an affordable future clean energy portfolio. Offshore wind can save consumers significant costs by untethering electricity prices from fossil fuel markets, which are vulnerable to price spikes. It provides long-term price stability for electricity and is insulated from market fluctuations that may result from conflicts overseas or events beyond human control.

Like any new technology, offshore wind will have some higher costs early on, but those prices will decline over time as the market develops and the industry matures. Public policy supporting offshore wind will help create economies of scale leading to price reductions – similar to policies that launched markets for solar and batteries.

Importantly, offshore wind is an essential part of a reliable, clean energy portfolio in California which will help support economy-wide carbon emissions reductions. Southern California Edison (SCE) recently examined the total energy burden costs for an average SCE customer in 2023 compared to projected costs in 2045 following electric system decarbonization and scaled electrification in the transportation and building sectors. The analysis shows that even with major investments in clean energy generation capacity (including offshore wind), an average SCE customer would see a 40% savings in their “energy burden” costs due to reductions in gasoline and in-home natural gas costs.

Offshore wind provides an opportunity to develop a highly skilled workforce and thousands of new jobs in California. For example, a July 2023 report “AB 525 Workforce Development Readiness Plan” published for the California State Lands Commission, estimates that building an offshore wind industry to a scale of 25 GW in California could require up to 8,000 jobs (including in project development, installation, operations and maintenance) and up to 9,000 jobs in port construction (including planning, commissioning, construction and manufacturing).

Additional indirect job gains are estimated to be in the thousands. An August 2021 USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy report estimates that direct and indirect job gains to support the development of 10 GW by 2040 could total between 96,970 and 195,271 job-years for construction and 3,979 to 4,513 annual operation and maintenance jobs.

Thousands of these jobs will be skilled union jobs in the construction, installation, and maintenance of turbines as well as construction and upgrades of ports and transmission lines. Across the US, employment of wind-turbine service technicians will increase almost 45% over the next decade, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts faster than any other occupation.

Offshore wind will also boost local economies through the development of a local workforce and investments in infrastructure and supporting projects in coastal areas. U.S. companies have announced $16 billion in manufacturing, shipbuilding, and ports investments due to business from the U.S. offshore wind energy industry.

The state has already provided significant support to the offshore wind industry through the passage of AB 525 (2021), California’s offshore wind planning bill; adoption of offshore wind goals of 3-5 GW by 2030 and 25 GW by 2045; and development of an offshore wind strategic plan. Going forward, the state can support the offshore wind industry by incorporating offshore wind goals and benefits into its electric resource and transmission planning processes, identifying and providing funding for offshore wind ports, coordinating an effective and efficient permitting process, and engaging Tribal Communities and stakeholders in the state’s offshore wind planning and implementation processes.

With the signing of AB 525 in 2021, offshore wind in California became an integral part of the state’s strategic renewable energy plan to achieve its 2045 goals. Then in 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), held a historic auction for five leases offshore in California – the first in the Pacific Ocean. The five lease areas sold for a cumulative price of $757.1 million, covering over 370,000 acres. The designated areas are off the coasts of Humboldt and San Luis Obispo Counties.

The auction included over $50 million in commitments toward community benefit agreements (CBAs) for local communities and Tribal nations. In addition, companies committed $117 million in investments to support workforce training programs and the U.S. domestic supply chain for the floating offshore wind energy industry.

The next steps for the offshore wind projects include project developers initiating site surveys, site assessments, development of construction and operation plans, and environmental and technical review by dozens of state and federal agencies. Projects must receive permits and approvals from state and federal authorities before construction can begin.

The first five leases could supply up to 10 GW which means that additional sea space will be needed to meet California’s goal of 25 GW of offshore wind by 2045. The most likely future areas are in federal waters off Cape Mendocino and Del Norte on California’s north coast.

Similar to other emerging technologies, offshore wind faces unique challenges. Offshore wind requires new port and transmission infrastructure and faces extensive state and federal permitting requirements. Individual projects will be uniquely large-scale, with a capacity to generate 1 GW or more, and each will have a development horizon, from project concept to online date, of ten to twelve years. These challenges can be addressed through strong state offshore wind commitments supported by coordinated, proactive public policy.

Ports will play a critical role in the manufacturing of offshore wind components, the assembly of turbines port-side, and housing supporting vessels for ongoing operations and maintenance. California has completed a study of the types, locations, and number of port facilities to support the state’s 25 GW offshore wind target. Several deepwater and inland ports have expressed interest in serving the offshore wind industry. Upgrade plans are already underway for the construction of offshore wind assembly facilities at the Port of Humboldt Bay and the Port of Long Beach.

The first California offshore wind projects are expected to be completed and online between 2035 and 2037. Timelines are contingent on the pace of port development, transmission upgrades, power purchase contracting, and permitting.

This long development time frame provides ample time for project planning, construction, and community engagement. The state and developers have taken many meaningful steps forward over the last two years through the establishment of state offshore wind goals, the first BOEM Pacific auction, and the passage of legislation to facilitate power purchase of offshore wind through a state entity.

Offshore wind projects on the East Coast have thus far utilized fixed-bottom technology, in which a turbine foundation is installed directly into the sea floor. Floating offshore wind in the Pacific will function differently, with floating platforms that will stay in place in deep water through anchors and mooring lines.

Offshore wind projects on the East Coast have been in development for over a decade with the first commercial-scale project currently under construction. Although projects on the East Coast have faced external challenges, such as inflation, interest rate increases, and supply chain problems caused by international conflicts, the offshore wind future in the U.S. remains strong. These recent challenges are not expected to directly impact California projects that are in the early stage of development and are not yet under contract. California’s offshore wind projects will benefit from central procurement and the state’s thoughtful and deliberate approach to power purchase contracting.

The offshore wind industry is committed to ensuring the continued protection of the marine environment and all ecologically sensitive areas along the West Coast. Each offshore wind project will go through extensive environmental review and permitting, which may result in project modifications, mitigations, or adaptive management programs to address potential impacts on species and habitats. The California Coastal Commission has already imposed certain conditions on leaseholders to protect marine habitats and species, including vessel speed limits and protections for deep-sea corals. Floating turbines are expected to have a lesser impact compared to fixed-bottom turbines, which require drilling into the seafloor.

The offshore wind industry has a history of environmental responsibility. On the East Coast, offshore wind developers are taking numerous proactive steps to ensure any potential impacts are addressed upfront, including establishing and monitoring exclusion zones, bubble curtains that limit acoustic disturbance in foundation installations, developing the newest mitigation technology, pausing work during migration seasons, and maintaining clear and consistent communication with wildlife experts and community stakeholders.

Offshore wind turbines will be minimally visible, even on a very clear day. On most days, the coastal marine layer will obstruct the view of turbines from shore. Current planned projects will be 20-30 miles off the coast of California, minimizing impact on coastal views. Once further along in the development process, project-specific viewshed analyses will be conducted based on project design and layout parameters in coordination with relevant stakeholders.

Although offshore wind development will include some associated infrastructure, including new port development in Humboldt and offshore wind export cables making landfall, these developments are not expected to have a major effect on tourism given its minimal effects on shorelines and viewsheds. On the East Coast and in Europe, offshore wind farms have also presented a draw for tourists who want to see this new innovative technology in action.

The primary onshore developments associated with offshore wind are related to port and transmission infrastructure. Turbines will be assembled at deep-sea staging and integration ports before they are transported to their final location many miles offshore. For California projects, these staging and integration ports will most likely be located in Long Beach and Humboldt. Smaller manufacturing ports may be developed elsewhere in the state, while smaller harbors and ports close to offshore wind farms may house and service operations and maintenance vessels.

Cables from offshore wind farms will come to shore to connect to the electric grid. In addition, new transmission lines on land will be needed to transport large quantities of clean energy resources, including offshore wind, to larger population areas.

Any necessary upgrades to transmission infrastructure will be thoughtfully planned to minimize and mitigate impacts to local communities while simultaneously expanding employment opportunities and workforce development investment.

Offshore wind on the Central Coast and the Chumash National Marine Sanctuary can successfully coexist and renewable energy will help reduce emissions that harm marine eco- systems. The sanctuary, which was designated in 2024, does not overlap with the federal offshore wind lease areas, and it includes a corridor for the placement of undersea cables that will transmit energy from the lease areas to shore.

Offshore wind developers are strongly committed to safeguarding marine life and the environment.

Though opponents of offshore wind – including Texas oil companies – have attempted to link instances of whale strandings on the East Coast to offshore wind developments, government scientists and regulators from two different federal agencies (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and BOEM) overseeing offshore wind development have stated there is no evidence to suggest that any of the equipment used to facilitate offshore wind has caused the death of a whale. Instead, the tragic increase in whale strandings on the East Coast is attributable largely to collisions between whales and container ships as well as water temperature changes which are drawing whale populations to new areas closer to shore.

Offshore wind activity presents minor risk to marine mammals. On the East Coast, minimal risks are presented by construction noise and potential interactions with offshore wind vessels. Floating offshore wind may create risks of secondary and tertiary entanglement for whales due to derelict fishing gear. Developers are taking steps to mitigate those risks by carefully tracking and monitoring the marine environment, and adjusting activities to minimize risks, developing the newest mitigation technology, and pausing work during migration seasons.

Offshore wind and fishing can coexist and thrive together through collaboration and coordination. Developers in California have prepared robust communication plans, as required by their leases with BOEM, to describe how they will consult and communicate with the fishing industry. They are also participating in a statewide offshore wind fisheries working group which is designed to prepare a fisheries mitigation and compensation framework to address any direct impacts and lost economic activity caused by offshore wind to state commercial, Tribal, and recreational fisheries. Finally, offshore wind developers will utilize their auction bidding credits to compensate fishermen who have historically utilized a lease area.