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:
The Transportation Department on Friday canceled $679 million in federal funding for a dozen offshore wind projects, the latest attack by the Trump administration on the reeling U.S. offshore wind industry.Funding for projects in 11 states was rescinded, including $435 million for a floating wind farm in Northern California.Last week, with U.S. electricity prices rising at more than twice the rate of inflation, Trump lashed out, falsely blaming renewable power for skyrocketing energy costs. He called wind and solar energy “THE SCAM OF THE CENTURY!” in a social media post and vowed not to approve any wind or solar projects.Energy analysts say renewable sources have little to do with recent price hikes, which are based on increased demand from artificial intelligence and energy-hungry data centers, along with aging infrastructure and increasingly extreme weather events such as wildfires that are exacerbated by climate change.Read More
On Friday, Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced that the Department of Transportation has withdrawn or terminated $679 million for 12 offshore wind projects currently in various stages of development, essentially scuttling the promise of many in-development offshore wind projects in the U.S. in the near term.Those funds include $426.7 million for the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Terminal (an INFRA grant that would essentially pay for the construction and completion of the project) and $8.6 million for the Redwood Marine Terminal Project planning.
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On June 17, Canary Media reported that several anti-offshore wind groups—some with known ties to the fossil fuel industry—asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to cancel the $426 million federal INFRA grant for the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District’s (District) offshore wind heavy lift marine terminal project. The money, which can only be received once the District has completed environmental permitting and secured matching funds, would be used to construct the West Coast’s first offshore wind staging and integration terminal. While individual turbine components would be manufactured in many different locations, a staging and integration terminal acts as their final destination before they are all put together and the turbine is towed out to sea. The grant would also pay for community benefits such as remediation of the existing contaminated site, a new trail, and a community benefit program. According to analyses by the state and federal governments, Humboldt Bay is particularly well suited for a staging and integration terminal because there is no manmade obstruction blocking the mouth of the Bay.In their letter, the groups—none of which are based in Humboldt—falsely stated that the project was ineligible for the grant and argued that it was not in the public interest. Legacy environmental nonprofits like the Sierra Club, Audubon, NRDC, SLO Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, Environment California, Nature Conservancy, and others believe that responsibly developing the offshore wind industry is in the public interest because it is essential to decarbonizing our electricity supply and fighting climate change. Local environmental and community groups have successfully advocated for the terminal to use state-of-the-art technology to reduce emissions and protect the Bay and nearby communities. So, who are these out-of-the-area, anti-offshore wind groups who disagree?Keep reading
GE Vernova, the maker of a massive wind turbine blade that broke apart off Nantucket Island and washed up on beaches for months, has agreed to a $10.5 million settlement to pay local businesses for their economic losses, officials said Friday.
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Proponents of offshore wind have had little to celebrate this year, as economic contractions and outright antagonism from the Trump administration have cast a pall of uncertainty on the industry. A technology that, just two years ago, the Biden administration said would generate 30 megawatts and power 10 million homes by 2030 appears to have fallen out of step with the political moment.Some local leaders have said that what once seemed like an imminent influx of clean, renewable energy may now be a decade or more away. Still, projects like the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal Project are diligently moving forward, according to sources interviewed by the Times-Standard. And offshore wind’s supporters are challenging the administration’s efforts to curtail wind energy development.
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