Offshore Wind
- Goal: To support responsible offshore renewable energy production along the California Coast that is sited and designed to minimize impacts to the coastal and marine environment
- Year Started: 2016
For years, EDC has worked to help lead the push for California to transition to clean, renewable offshore energy. In 2016, the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (“BOEM”) received an unsolicited request for a commercial lease for a floating offshore wind farm approximately 25 nautical miles off the coast of Morro Bay. At that time, EDC began our engagement in the BOEM/California Energy Commission (“CEC”) planning process for offshore wind along the coast of California. We have participated in multi-agency task force meetings, planning meetings with agencies and developers, and worked together with other environmental nonprofits to submit comments throughout the planning process. EDC is also closely engaged with the State Lands Commission on two projects that have been proposed in state waters near Point Conception.
EDC hosted a webinar in spring 2021 discussing the basic functionality of floating offshore wind turbines, impacts to marine life and other ocean users, and EDC’s ongoing work to ensure projects are sited and designed to minimize these impacts. The webinar is available here.
