Anonymous
By the Office of Rep. Salud Carbajal
[On Wednesday], Congressman Salud Carbajal applauded the conclusion of an auction to sell three leases off the coast of Morro Bay to become the West Coast’s first offshore wind energy sites.
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held the sale today for approximately 373,268 acres off the coasts of Northern and Central California with the potential to produce over 4.5 GW of offshore wind energy: enough to power more than 1.5 million homes while supporting thousands of new jobs.
The leases were sold at auction for a total of $757.1 million. The three Morro Bay leases totaled $425.6 million. More information on the winners of the five leases can be found here.
“For years, supporters of clean wind energy projects like myself have touted offshore wind not only as a tool to tackle climate change, but also as a way to boost economic growth and job creation for our region. This week’s auction, which drew three quarters of a billion dollars in interest from the private sector, proves that wind can and will be an economic powerhouse for the Central Coast,” said Congressman Salud Carbajal. “These leases off Morro Bay will help secure the Central Coast’s dominance as a renewable energy hub for years to come—attracting new businesses and creating good-paying jobs—and I look forward to working with the lease purchasers, as well as local, state, and federal partners, to make these offshore wind projects a reality in the years ahead.”
The area made available for offshore wind development in Morro Bay spans 376 square miles, enough to produce 3GW of energy, which represents the largest proposed floating offshore wind project in the United States. A map can be found here.
Earlier this year, BOEM completed its environmental review of the proposed leases in Morro Bay and issued a report saying it found no significant potential impacts on Central Coast ecosystems.
Background on Congressman Carbajal’s Work on Offshore Wind:
Congressman Carbajal has been a champion for offshore wind throughout his time in office.
This offshore wind lease sale is the product of negotiations conducted by Rep. Carbajal’s Offshore Wind Working Group, which was created in August 2019 to coordinate between federal, state, and local partners and is composed of representatives from the offices of
Rep. Carbajal and Rep. Panetta (D-Carmel Valley), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Department of Defense (DOD), Department of the Navy, and California Energy Commission (CEC).
Negotiations had previously stalled amid hesitation from the Navy, until Rep. Carbajal offered an amendment to the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act in order to move the development forward off of Morro Bay and get negotiations back on track.
Following the amendment’s passage in the House, Carbajal secured a written commitment from the Navy indicating a willingness to collaborate with the Working Group to identify an area for development that would meet energy production goals.
As a result of these efforts and support from other local stakeholders and officials, Rep. Carbajal and Biden Administration leaders unveiled an agreement in May 2021 to allow offshore wind development off the coast of Morro Bay.
The lease sites for this and other areas off the California coast were announced earlier this year.
Earlier this year, Congressman Salud Carbajal hosted members of the House Committee on Natural Resources in Morro Bay to discuss the future of offshore wind projects in California at a field hearing of the Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
Offshore wind is one component of a multi-pronged strategy to transform the Central Coast into a renewable energy hub.
The Central Coast is already home to the California Valley Solar Ranch and Morro Bay could soon host the largest energy storage facility in the world. With the addition of an offshore wind project, the Central Coast is positioned to lead the country in renewable energy construction and output.
Rep. Salud Carbajal represents California’s 24th congressional district, encompassing Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and part of Ventura County. He sits on the House Armed Services Committee, Agriculture Committee, and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where he serves as the Chair of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
There is a lot of money to be made from this “green” bonanza, government money that is. Wind will never be a practical or functional way to provide the power we need. It’s too inconsistent, and there is no viable way to store the energy it produces. The massive lithium battery installation that is slated to be built by the sea will not provide an effective long term solution. It will be a major environmental hazard though. They should have refurbished the old power plant near morro rock and kept it running. Perhaps they will in a few years once it’s clear the windmills and batteries are a failure.
Chillin, that’s just a bunch of doomsday religion propaganda. When will Miami be underwater? People have been making these catastrophic sea level rise predictions for years, and so far the tide gages show no change in long term sea level trends going back to the early 19th century. Manhattan is still above water. Same story for acidification. The Great Barrier Reef has been growing like crazy despite recent doomsday predictions. Australia’s “permanent” drought gave way to the xtensive rainfall, imagine that. Doomsday predictions are the same old racket they’ve always been, nothing more than a con. Fossil fuels aren’t perfect, but they’re a heck of a lot better than the alternatives. Thankfully, we have an abundance of fossil fuels in the US and we can provide for our energy needs if we choose to. So called “green” energy is anything but, and it’s not a viable way to meet our world’s growing needs.
General, and m glad to see you’re concerned about the destruction of the Amazon. I am too. I think all too often people get into tunnel vision regarding CO2 and start to ignore so many other things that are far more destructive. I think you might also find the lithium mining practices used in South America to be of particular concern. This should not be overlooked when considering the environmental impact of the lithium battery arrays slated for construction in morro bay.
While coal, gasoline, and natural gas are all fossil fuels coal stands far apart as much much dirtier than the rest. Over the past twenty years the majority of our reduction in CO2 emission has come from switching from coal power plants to natural gas plants.
Republicans don’t actually care about energy – they are too busy sabotaging power substations.
Interesting comment to down vote…
How will these turbines affect birds? Last time I visited Morro Bay there was an amazing amount of seabirds there.
Repuglicans can’t believe that carbon emissions have caused global warming – but they do believe nefarious government forces are poisoning the population with chemtrails and that vaccines cause autism.
Talk about conspiracy theories GT. coming out strong today!
If you are really concerned about that topic at all, and stay informed, you would know that the carbon industry kills far more wildlife, and especially birds, than any wind power generation ever will.
Here’s some information to get you started:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200302-how-do-wind-farms-affect-bats-birds-and-other-wildlife
What you’re missing @4:53 is that coal releases almost twice the C02 per unit of energy created than natural gas. In addition, the extraction and transportation of natural gas is much easier/cleaner/less energy intensive than coal which provides additional environmental benefits.