Praise benefits for climate, communities, grid
& jobs by making floating wind part of 100% clean-energy
future
SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 16, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Federal, state and industry leaders on Day Two of
the 2024 Pacific Offshore Wind
Summit lauded California's commitment to make floating wind
part of its diverse clean-power future, and urged the state to
advance plans to deploy a nation-leading 25 gigawatts (GW) by 2045,
to create jobs and meet its climate, clean-energy, and
grid-reliability goals. Speakers at the Summit, hosted by
Offshore Wind California (OWC), called on the state to
move with speed and scale on key next steps to bring offshore wind
online – including transmission and port upgrades, procuring at
scale, a permitting roadmap, supply chain, workforce training, and
suitable sea space to reach the state's goals.
The California Energy Commission is finalizing the state's draft
AB 525 Strategic Plan, which outlines California's next steps to responsibly develop
offshore wind and achieve its planning goals for up to 5 GW by
2030 and 25 GW by 2045. Last fall, Governor Newsom also signed AB
1373 enabling the state to procure floating offshore wind at
scale.
"I'm excited to be here because this Summit really is at the
heart of the historic progress to grow the offshore wind industry
up and down the Pacific Coast," said Laura Daniel-Davis, Acting Deputy
Secretary, U.S. Department of Interior. "We are moving
full steam ahead in our efforts to achieve President Biden's
ambitious goal of deploying 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 15
GW of floating offshore wind by 2035. Together, we're building an
industry that will transform the way millions of people power their
lives, for the better and for generations to come."
In April, the Department of Interior announced a new five-year
U.S. offshore wind leasing schedule with up to 12 potential
offshore wind energy lease sales, including for California and Oregon, through 2028. The Department held
its first-ever offshore wind lease sale in the Pacific in
December 2022, drawing bids totaling
$757 million and identifying five
leaseholders for an initial 7 to 10 GW off California's Central and North Coast,
according to industry estimates.
"It's the power of the wind that brings us here today. We have
2.8 terrawatts of technical resource potential in our deep waters
that will be accessed by floating offshore wind," said
Jocelyn Brown-Saracino,
Offshore Wind Energy Lead, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
"There has been significant progress over the course of the last
year as we work to unlock a future in which floating offshore wind
is a central part of our climate solution and our coastal
economies."
The federal Floating Offshore Wind Shot™ initiative is
facilitating the 15 GW goal for U.S. floating wind, and convenes
its second Floating Offshore Wind Shot Summit in Sacramento May
16 after the Pacific Offshore Wind Summit.
Brown-Saracino highlighted DOE's announcement of winners of
Phase Two of the Floating Offshore Wind ReadINess (FLOWIN) Prize, a
first-of-its-kind competition that aims to solve the floating wind
industry's most pressing supply-chains challenges.
"California has a tremendous
appetite for clean energy and with the work that we're going to do
together, we're going to continue to build out and exceed the
expectations of the people of California," said Chris Hannan, President, State
Building & Construction Trades Council. "Our excitement
for this industry continues to grow," he said of the building
trades members and workforce opportunities in the state's offshore
wind plans. "We believe every port can play a role."
"A few months ago, I had a chance to join the California delegation to the United Kingdom to learn about the offshore
wind industry as it's developing in that country. It was really
amazing to have a chance to see some of these awe-inspiring
floating machines," said John
Reynolds, Commissioner, California Public Utilities
Commission. "The technology is real. That's a very exciting
prospect for a new energy technology and for us in California. I think offshore wind can be a
part of our solution to creating an energy system that is safe,
reliable, affordable, and meets our climate goals for the
future."
"California made great progress
in the past year advancing its course and commitment to go big on
offshore wind," said Adam
Stern, Executive Director,
OWC. "At the same time, much work remains to
bring offshore wind online. To deploy at scale, we need to
finalize the AB 525 Strategic Plan and move ahead on offshore
wind's essential next steps. That means investing in ports and
transmission, procuring at scale, setting a permitting roadmap,
engaging key stakeholders, building a supply chain, training our
workers, and defining suitable sea space to reach our 25 GW
goal."
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates California's offshore wind potential at 200
GW, with more than 25 GW in BOEM's two lease areas and
the waters off the state's North Coast. Deeper West Coast waters
require floating technologies already deployed in other
world markets. Reports show that developing 25 GW of
California offshore wind can
support thousands of jobs, supply up to 15-20% of the
state's planned new clean energy, save ratepayers billions of
dollars, drive economies of scale, and generate enough
competitively priced electricity to power up to 25
million homes.
Offshore Wind California's more than 40 members
include Burns & McDonnell, Crowley Wind
Services, Fugro, General Dynamics NASSCO, Pacific
Ocean Energy Trust, PG&E, Port of Long Beach, Shell, SSE Renewables,
WSP, Vestas, and XODUS.
About OWC − Offshore Wind California is a
coalition of industry partners with a shared interest in promoting
policies and public support for responsible development of offshore
wind power in California. Its members are dedicated to
providing an independent voice and industry expertise to facilitate
offshore wind deployment off California's coast. OWC undertakes public
education and advocacy of this renewable resource as part of a
comprehensive solution to California's energy needs. OWC is a nonprofit,
501(c)(6) organization. For more information, go to
www.offshorewindCA.org. Follow us @offshorewindCA.
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SOURCE Offshore Wind California