The Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA), with support from a consortium of private companies, has submitted a lease application to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to advance the development of an offshore wind energy project off the coast of Humboldt County, in Northern California.
The 100 to 150MW floating offshore wind farm is planned to be located more than 30 kilometres off the coast of Eureka.
RCEA and the consortium, which includes Principle Power, EDPR Offshore North America, and Aker Solutions, have been working with members of the community since 2017 to explore and develop the offshore wind potential of Humboldt County. RCEA initiated a competitive process earlier this year and selected the consortium to enter into a public-private partnership to pursue the development of the proposed project.
A longer-term goal of the project is for Humboldt Bay to become a central hub of a US west coast offshore wind industry.
RCEA and its project partners engaged in a comprehensive process to determine a location for the Humboldt offshore site that minimises impacts to the environment and communities, including commercial fishing, that are active offshore. Based on this process, the proposed lease area will support selecting a final project site for an expected 10 to 15 turbines that avoids or minimises impacts on marine navigation corridors, major commercial fishing areas, and environmental resources.
RCEA and its consortium of development partners are working to bring the project online in 2024.
