California Advances Offshore Wind Development, Wildfire and Emergency Preparedness Investments

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom May 25, joined secretary of the interior Deb Haaland, White House national climate advisor Gina McCarthy and under secretary of defense for policy Dr. Colin Kahl to announce an agreement that opens up the West coast for offshore wind development for the first time in history, a promising development that could help achieve the state’s clean energy goals, bolster renewable energy sources and create new jobs and investments in California.

Initial areas identified for offshore wind development could bring up to 4.6 gigawatts of clean energy to the grid over the next decade, enough to power 1.6 million homes.

As part of the agreement, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management or BOEM plans to offer a lease sale as early as 2022 within a 399-square-mile area of the Central Coast northwest of Morro Bay and a separate area on the North Coast. The areas were identified cooperatively by the Departments of the Interior and Defense and the State of California. 

Under the terms of the agreement, efforts will focus on the use of floating offshore wind platforms with over 95 percent of the proposed lease sale area located 20 to 30 miles off the California Coast. In addition, California is committed to moving forward with offshore wind development in a manner that protects fisheries resources, marine life and tribal and cultural resources, while providing significant regional and statewide economic benefits.

As part of the California Comeback Plan, Governor Newsom has proposed $20 million in funding to support California’s offshore wind capacity, including:

 $11 million to support the Port of Humboldt to apply for federal funding for upgrades that will enable it to support offshore wind deployment.

$6.5 million supporting staff at the California Coastal Commission and California Department of Fish and Wildlife for accelerated environmental review and front-loaded environmental analysis where feasible. $2.1 million for environmental studies on offshore wind impacts.

$1.5 million for an engineering and design-build study for a North Coast offshore wind project, to maximize its value in providing regional decarbonization and resilience.

$700,000 for outreach to ports, Tribes, labor, coastal communities and more.

 BOEM, in partnership with California, will hold an Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meeting on June 24 to discuss the identified areas off the north and central coasts as potential wind energy areas. Following the task force meeting, the areas can be finalized and undergo environmental analysis.

Gov. Newsom Highlights New Firefighting Aircraft, $2 Billion in Wildfire and Emergency Preparedness Investments

MCCLELLAN PARK – At McClellan Air Force Base May 24, Gov. Gavin Newsom highlighted the recent addition of six CAL FIRE HAWK helicopters to CAL FIRE’s fleet and discussed his proposed $2 billion investment in combating wildfires and emergency preparedness – the largest in California history.

“Climate change has created a new wildfire reality in California, and we are proposing the single largest investment in wildfire preparedness in our state’s history – $2 billion for emergency preparedness,” said Governor Newsom.

Earlier in the day, the Governor was joined by CAL FIRE Director Thom Porter and CAL OES Director Mark Ghilarducci on an aerial tour of key fuel breaks in the Sierra Foothills made possible by executive action in 2019 to accelerate fuels management in California’s most wildfire-vulnerable communities. 

B-roll from the aerial tour of the Sierra Foothills fuel breaks can be found here. 

The Governor’s California Comeback Plan proposes $2 billion for disaster preparedness, including urgent action to support wildfire suppression, improve forest health and build resilience in communities to help protect residents and property from catastrophic wildfires. Investments include $48.4 million to phase in 12 new CAL FIRE HAWK helicopters and seven large air tankers; $143.3 million to support 30 additional fire crews; and an additional $708 million to restore landscape and forest health to be more resilient to wildfires.

More information on the progress to date by the Newsom Administration and the Legislature to address California’s forest health and wildfire crisis can be found here.