I attended the Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA)
Offshore Wind Project Stakeholder Workshop last week.
Why the interest for wind energy off of Humboldt Bay?
· The North Coast has World Class off shore wind
resource
· Technology is now available and affordable
· Demand to De-carbonize California
· Potential hub for assembly revitalizing the Humboldt Bay Harbor
There is a partnership between the RCEA and Principal Power
to assemble 10-15 wind turbines and place them on floating platforms 25 miles
off shore in water 600 to 1,000 feet deep and anchors to the sea bed and create
120 to 150 Mega Watts of power. The
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) put out Request for Qualifications
(RFQ) in 2018 and already possesses site control. The Power Purchase Agreement
would happen in 2022 and the build out in 2025.
In 2020 the bidding process will happen. This
entails an auction up for the highest bid. I identified myself as an
employee of CIFAC and asked how this process would actually work. It seems this
is a federal process that the BOEM would control and they want the maximum
monies they can garner.
The Humboldt Fisherman’s Marketing Association Vice
President said the fishermen are willing to be part of the solution process
although they said they were the most regulated fisherman on the west coast. They
wanted to focus on community benefits and having a say in the fishing
territories but staying proactive.
I did ask where they were with the PLA process and they
publicly said they were in negotiations.