A newly launched coalition, Offshore Wind California (OWC), is dedicated to growing the state’s offshore wind industry.
Noting advances in floating platform technology and declining costs, OWC urges California to set a goal of reaching a minimum of 10 GW of offshore wind by 2040, which would help meet the state’s commitment of 100% renewable power by 2045. Citing the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the group says building 10 GW of offshore wind in California would create 18,000 jobs and generate $20 billion in GDP by 2050.
Founding member companies of Offshore Wind California are Aker Solutions, Equinor, Magellan Wind, Mainstream Renewable Power, Northland Power, Ørsted and Principle Power. The nonprofit Pacific Ocean Energy Trust, which is supporting the formation of OWC, is also a founding member.
“California is committed to 100 percent power from renewable energy by 2045,” states Sunny Gupta, head of new markets at Ørsted and board chair at OWC. “Offshore wind is critical to reach this mark and will create jobs and green growth. It’s an ideal complement to existing renewable resources, with steady and powerful winds that grow even stronger after sunset. We want California to seize its opportunity to be a leading offshore wind market − in the U.S. and across the Pacific Rim.”
NREL estimates California’s technical potential for offshore wind at an enormous 112 GW, including up to 8.4 GW in the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s three designated call areas. Although deeper West Coast waters require floating technologies, this technology is now being deployed in various markets around the world; technology advances and economies of scale have established the commercial case for floating offshore wind, says OWC.
“It’s time for California, a renewable energy leader with one of the world’s best offshore wind resources, to stake its claim to the growing benefits of offshore wind, including jobs, economic development, lower emissions and potential savings for ratepayers,” says Adam Stern, the newly hired executive director of OWC, who has broad experience with California environmental and renewable energy issues and is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
“Offshore wind is poised to play a major role helping California meet its renewable energy goals,” adds David Hochschild, chair of the California Energy Commission. “Working together, industry leaders, policymakers, environmental advocates, labor unions and power providers can advance the technology and make this renewable resource a mainstream, competitive clean energy source. Offshore wind holds great promise as part of the diverse power portfolio and transformative clean energy change California is looking for.”
