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:

On Wednesday, July 12 at 5:30 pm at the Wharfinger Building, the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District will hold a public scoping hearing on the Notice of Preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the proposed Humboldt Bay Marine Terminal in Samoa. The scoping process is the public's earliest opportunity to raise issues to be addressed in the DEIR, including potential environmental impacts, mitigation measures, and feasible alternatives. 

On Wednesday, a state government committee meeting in Sacramento featured several Humboldt County stakeholders to discuss the future of offshore wind power in the county. One particular concern McGuire addressed was Humboldt County’s electrical transmission lines, which would not be able to effectively transmit the power generated by offshore wind.
“(The transmission lines are) antiquated. I will take a moment to say PG&E … if we’re looking at the Humboldt (County) call area, they have not kept up on their deferred maintenance, there is no way in hell that the current lines that we have available are going to be able to take on the additional load,” McGuire said.

The wind resource beyond Humboldt Bay is among the best in the United States, with strong, consistent wind speeds that are ideal for commercial development. There’s just one problem: electrical transmission.
Getting the power from the floating offshore turbines to the shore is one thing; getting the power to communities throughout the region and across the state is another. Wind developers can run big, subsea cables from their offshore wind projects to land with relative ease, but once that power comes ashore it encounters an electrical grid that wasn’t designed to handle it.

Between January 1, 2019 and February 8 of this year, 613 stranded gray whales have been found along the west coast of North America between Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and the Chukchi Sea in northern Alaska. Eight were found along the coast between South Humboldt Bay and the Oregon border. This has been declared an Unusual Mortality Event (UME)...

Photo credit: NOAA Fisheries.

More Articles …

  1. Humboldt County supervisors approve a slate of offshore wind actions
  2. Off the East Coast, a Massive Network of Wind Turbines Is Coming—Along With New Risks for Migrating Birds
  3. Crowley’s plans for offshore wind complex at California’s Humboldt Bay
  4. Lease to Farm: The long road ahead for offshore wind
  5. Winning bids for North Coast offshore wind leases top $331 million
  6. BOEM Names California North Floating and RWE Offshore Wind Holdings as Provisional Winners of Two Offshore Wind Leases Off the Humboldt Coast
  7. North Coast Fisherman Fear for the Future of Commercial Fisheries as Offshore Wind Efforts Advance
  8. Offshore Wind is Coming to the North Coast. What’s in it For Humboldt?
  9. Harbor District Announces Massive Offshore Wind Partnership; Project Would Lead to an 86-Acre Redevelopment of Old Pulp Mill Site
  10. Humboldt Offshore Wind Leases to Go Up For Auction on Dec. 6
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