At OSW Summit, participants say California will stay the course on offshore wind

May 22, 2025,

By Ramona Cornell du Houx

SACRAMENTO, Calif.,  State, industry, elected officials, and other key leaders at the 2025 Pacific Offshore Wind Summit joined in praising California for staying the course in its plans to deploy gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind to strengthen its energy security and independence, and develop a global hub for floating wind technology and jobs.

Offshore wind turbines off the coast of California will be different than those on the east coast as they will be located in deep waters where they cannot be fixed to the bottom. They will be positioned on floating platforms tethered to the seabed. This method has be used in Europe successfully. The actual platforms will be 20 miles off the coast and barely visible from land. As it is new to the west coast there are still is a lot of preliminary work to ensure the correct placement.

Speakers at the Summit, hosted by Offshore Wind California (OWC), urged the state to proceed with its recent advances to deploy offshore wind at scale – including investing in port infrastructure and transmission, procuring at scale, establishing a strategic plan and permitting roadmap, engaging key stakeholders, and spurring a supply chain and workforce training.

"California is fully committed to getting to 100 percent clean energy and offshore wind has an important role to play in that effort," said David Hochschild, Chair, California Energy Commission. "Our focus now will be on deploying $475 million in funding for port infrastructure upgrades to support offshore wind, as a result of California voters approving Prop 4 last fall."

With its ability to provide energy into the peak evening hours when solar power generation declines, offshore wind is essential to California’s goal of being carbon-neutral by 2045.

The CEC is asking lawmakers to appropriate money to hire 11 permanent workers dedicated solely to advancing offshore wind.

Accordingly, they are aiming for a massive growth in offshore wind from zero percent of California’s energy today to 13 percent by 2045, when they’re hoping the technology will provide enough power for around 25 million homes.

“California has got an opportunity over the next, two, three or four years, without involving Washington,” said Tony Appleton, the offshore wind director for energy firm Burns & McDonnell. “There’s so much to do locally.”

Elected Officials to Protect America held a Round Table at the 2025 Pacific Offshore Wind Summittitled: Local Power: Local Leaders’ Role in Shaping Offshore Wind Policies in California

Over 200 elected officials throughout California embrace Offshore Wind to replace polluting energy sources in their communities with 100 percent renewable energy, while supporting thriving local economies. Critical offshore wind infrastructure to connect, store and transmit clean energy will depend on permits, studies, and numerous other decisions made by County Supervisors, City Councils, and Port Authorities. Local elected leaders have a crucial role in shaping the industry’s success in California, while ensuring that success translates into concrete benefits for the communities they represent. 

The Round Table, moderated by the former Mayor of Culver City Meghan Sahli-Wells, California Director of Elected Officials to Protect America, brought together elected officials, Hon. Bob Vessely, Port San Luis Harbor District Commissioner and the Hon. Natalie Arroyo, Humboldt County Supervisor with a leading researcher, Katherine Hoff, Climate Change Research Fellow, UC Berkeley Center for Law, Energy & Environment (CLEE) in clean energy and community benefits for a discussion.

 "Renewable energy is a promising sector in Humboldt County and I believe we need to continue to have an outspoken commitment to environmentally sustainable, locally-rooted solutions in the face of growing needs. I look forward to continuing to collaborate with scientists and leaders from around the country to uphold our long-term energy resilience,“ said Natalie Arroyo, Humboldt County Supervisor, District 4, Coast Guard Reserves. “I’m honored to speak about what our community is doing to progress these dynamic valuable clean energy project.”

In the process of planning and building up this new energy system, it is imperative for workers and communities to be at the table. Working together to create Project Labor Agreements, Community Benefits Agreements, and strong environmental standards is key to achieving the transition from polluting energy to just, renewable and sustainable power.

“What has been and will be accomplished in Humboldt Port is an example of strength, dedication and determination to achieve great things for a prosperous healthy future. This project will make Humboldt County a national leader in addressing the climate crisis, sea level rise, and green site development. The needs of local communities are paramount to the success of the project,” said Ben Collings, Frm. Maine State Representative, Elected Officials to Protect America Offshore Wind Consultant, who attended the conference. “This is an area of natural beauty where redwoods abound. Combating the climate crisis with clean offshore wind energy will help ensure they will be there for future generations. All these factors are paramount for balanced offshore wind growth, which is the key to economic growth.”

California made important strides in 2024 on its key next steps to bring offshore wind online. Most notable were the California Energy Commission's (CEC) adoption of a final AB 525 strategic plan, the California Public Utilities Commission's decision to procure up to 7.6 GW by 2035-37, and approval by California voters of Proposition 4, the $10 billion climate bond that included $475 million to upgrade ports for offshore wind. 

"Supporting California's development of offshore wind is important to the Port of Long Beach," said Suzanne Plezia, Chief Harbor Engineer, Port of Long Beach. "It will require a multi-port strategy to develop floating wind," said Plezia, who outlined the Port's Pier Wind plans. "Pier Wind would be the nation's largest purpose-built offshore wind facility, designed to be an efficient floating wind turbine assembly hub," she said. "Pier Wind will also support thousands of good-paying, family-sustaining wage jobs. We're not just meeting the moment; we're shaping what comes next."

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised budget proposal avoided major cuts to planned spending on port upgrades, like the $228 million Newsom proposed in January to allocate this year from the $10 billion climate bond.

California currently has five existing offshore wind leases, located 20-30 miles off its coast and largely out of sight, from the first federal lease sale for Pacific offshore wind in 2022 that drew bids of $757 million from five developers to deploy an initial 7 to 10 GW.

"California has the opportunity to become a powerhouse for offshore wind," said Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, California State Assembly (51^st District). "We need to continue focusing on our port infrastructure for offshore wind, right now," Zbur said. "Offshore wind is more than just clean energy, it is an economic engine."

Assembly Member Zbur was a key backer of legislation that led to SB 867, which authorized the $10 billion Prop 4 climate bond voters approved in November, including a $475 million downpayment for a multi-port strategy to deploy floating wind turbines.

California is also well-positioned to be a hub in the growing global market for floating offshore wind. In 2023, California joined the Global Offshore Wind Alliance and has agreements with Norway, Scotland, Denmark, Japan, and China to advance floating wind.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates California has 200 GW of offshore wind potential, with more than 25 GW in five existing leases at Morro Bay and Humboldt and waters off the North Coast. Deep West Coast waters require floating technologies already deployed in other world markets.

Reports show deploying 25 GW of California offshore wind can create thousands of jobs, supply 15-20 percent of the state's new clean energy, offer ratepayers affordable, reliable clean power, drive economies of scale, and generate enough competitively priced electricity for up to 25 million homes. 

A new study co-authored by Adam Rose, Professor at the USC Price School of Public Policy, finds that generating electricity with wind turbines off the coast of California is an even more attractive option than it was at the beginning of the decade. The study concludes that offshore wind (OSW) generation is on the verge of becoming cost-competitive with most other energy sources. It can also improve the reliability of electricity and provide substantial co-benefits, reducing ordinary air pollution as well as greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.

 “Offshore wind is a major untapped resource that holds significant economic and environmental promise, especially in California,” said Professor Rose.

The report synthesized findings from 153 previous studies, estimated that the OSW industry in California could create up to 450,668 jobs overall in construction and 17,273 jobs per year in operation and maintenance. Building enough OSW to help the state meet its goal of 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2045 could contribute up to a total of $54.5 billion to California’s gross domestic product (GDP). Operations and maintenance would top out at another $2.3 billion in GDP annually.