The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, has listed 40 different proposed mitigation measures it could implement to reduce the environmental impact of these floating wind turbines. Five companies have bought leases to develop offshore wind off the coast of Humboldt and Morro Bays.
Some of the agency鈥檚 proposed measures include bird deterrents, electrical shielding on underwater cables and long-term monitoring.
The draft environmental impact statement is through February 12. It could take another few years before companies are ready to submit construction plans for approval. At that point, the government will conduct site-specific environmental reviews and determine which mitigation measures are best for that project. BOEM said this report will help speed up approval of construction plans in the future.
Both President Biden and the state of California have set lofty goals for floating offshore wind deployment. If all five of these projects are built, they would generate around 4.6 gigawatts of energy, enough to power over 1.5 million homes.
But, the incoming Trump administration could throw a wrench in the entire plan. Trump has long been opposed to offshore wind turbines, and has promised to sign an executive order to block such projects. He could do that by cutting off federal funding that鈥檚 needed to kickstart this fledgling industry.
