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Bringing Responsible Offshore Wind Development to the Port of Long Beach
Launching a new energy industry like floating offshore wind on the West Coast comes with a number of challenges. Among these is that a multitude of projects and procedural steps must be fully funded, completed, and conditions met on time to ultimately generate and transmit clean energy to the grid. If any part of that equation is missing, the industry can face lengthy delays. Port of Long Beach in California provides a hopeful example of what can be.
For example, a key element of this burgeoning industry are the ports which must be sited and developed for assembling and staging the massive parts needed for the wind turbines, transmission lines, and substations. Additionally, states or other large entities must commit to purchasing the energy generated offshore, the federal government needs to identify and lease Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) and then review and grant permits for proposed projects—all before a single turbine can be built.
Port of Long Beach Offshore Wind Boat Tour
That’s why NWF’s West Coast campaign manager for offshore wind energy was recently invited on a tour of the Port of Long Beach on the Southern California coast hosted by the Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA). Attendees were able to see and learn about the proposed Pier Wind Project which aims to develop an assembly and staging port for floating offshore wind on the West Coast.
The tour, organized in partnership with the Port of Long Beach, helped inform and educate Southern California elected officials, nonprofit staff, labor representatives, and members of the scientific and education sector about the proposed Pier Wind Project.
In order to understand why regional assembly and staging is so important for the West Coast, you need to understand the scale of these turbines. A single blade for an offshore wind turbine is about 800 feet long—once fully constructed, a wind turbine reaches the height of the Eiffel Tower (just over 1,000 feet), and the platform for a single turbine is about the size of a baseball field.
As opposed to their land-based counterparts, offshore turbines can be larger (and therefore generate more power), since those on land are limited by the size of the transportation they have to fit onto. A semi-truck or train could never match the size and scale of the parts that ships can haul to offshore wind sites. That, combined with the strong, steady wind patterns in specific areas off of the West Coast, makes floating offshore wind a strong potential source of affordable, reliable, clean energy.
Right now, all of the ports in the world capable of assembling the massive components of floating offshore wind projects are based in Europe or China. Once blades and platforms are assembled, the parts must be towed out to the wind energy areas to be fully assembled on site. In order for this industry to succeed in the region, it is imperative that the West Coast have local assembling and staging capabilities.
A Uniquely Advantaged Port
The Port of Long Beach provides exactly that opportunity. While on the boat tour, we received an in-depth presentation from Chief Harbor Engineer, Suzanne Plezia, about the proposed Pier Wind Project. We learned that due to its size, deep water, and current level of development, the Port of Long Beach is uniquely situated to provide this vital service on the West Coast.
The team has already identified a spot where they plan to build a 400-acre site for assembling and staging offshore wind platforms and a wet docking area where the platforms can be stored until a ship is scheduled to tow them out to the site(s). When production reaches its full capacity, they intend for the Port to build up to four platforms per week.
With adequate funding and continued political and public support, the proposed port development could be completed in 10 years, ensuring that regional offshore wind manufacturing needs would be online before the earliest possible development of turbines.
While the biggest challenge facing this important project is funding, enthusiasm from elected officials, Port of Long Beach leadership and staff, nonprofits and labor representatives in attendance made it clear there is significant momentum.
Proposition 4 Passed for Clean Energy Funding
On Election Day, California voters passed Proposition 4, the Climate Bond, with nearly 60% support. This proposition is a promising opportunity to fund port development by authorizing $10 billion (repaid over the next 40 years) to be spent on environmental and climate projects, including funding for port infrastructure development for clean energy projects like floating offshore wind.
The bond prioritizes low-income communities and those most vulnerable to climate change with many of those communities existing near ports and highly polluting fossil fuel sites. As the U.S. transitions towards clean energy like offshore wind, reducing carbon emissions from oil and gas pollution will create cleaner air, and healthier conditions for communities and workers.