California Community Power recently issued a request for information for offshore wind projects in the Humboldt and Morro Bay areas, as well as other possible offshore wind developments.
California Community Power, which represents nine community choice aggregators from Humboldt to Santa Barbara counties, said it plans to use the results of the RFI to inform board recommendations regarding procurement, readiness, and barriers to offshore wind projects.
In 2021, the Department of the Interior with the Department of Defense and the state of California identified Morro Bay off California’s central coast as an area that could support up to 3 gigawatts of offshore wind projects. Together with the Humboldt area off the state’s northern coast Interior the areas could support as much as 4.6 gigawatts of offshore wind energy.
In December 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, a division of the Department of the Interior, awarded five leases for offshore wind power development along the California coast.
“Offshore wind energy can provide steady, valuable, and renewable energy to meet California’s clean energy needs, including during heat storms when the grid is taxed,” Matthew Marshall, California Community Power board member and Redwood Coast Energy Authority executive director, said in a statement. “This RFI fits with the goals of CC Power. Gathering information and signaling interest in offshore wind is a prudent step for CC Power to gear up in exploring contracting for new offshore wind resources.”
If contracted for development by California Community Power, the offshore wind projects would be included in each community choice aggregator’s resource plan, and California Community Power said it would administer contracts to drive development and operations of new resources.
California Community Power members represent 2.7 million customers across 112 municipalities.
“This joint-action RFI will focus on California’s opportunity for floating offshore wind turbines, a technology gradually being deployed around the world,” Alex Morris, general manager of California Community Power, said in a statement. “This RFI helps us build formal recommendations on procurement for our Board and will inform strategies to address needs for port infrastructure and expanded electrical grid transmission, known barriers for offshore wind development in California.”
More information regarding the California Community Power Request for Information is available at https://cacommunitypower.org/solicitations/.
