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The California Report

What's Next For California's Offshore Wind Industry?

Keith Mizuguchi
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Wind turbines seen in the ocean.
FILE - Turbines operate at the Block Island Wind Farm, Dec. 7, 2023, off the coast of Block Island, Rhode Island. A California congressman is asking for tribes to be part of the decision-making process as the first offshore wind farms were developed along the West Coast. U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman sent a letter to federal regulators Friday, May 17, 2024, asking that they “urgently place” a senior official in California to respond to tribal needs as offshore wind is developed.  (Julia Nikhinson/The Associated Press)

Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, October 22, 2024…

  • Earlier this year, state energy officials approved a strategic master plan to start developing enormous offshore wind farms in the waters off the coast, with hundreds of wind turbines each the size of the Eiffel Tower sitting atop floating platforms. But what’s on tap for the growing industry? 
  • It’s day 2 of a strike by thousands of Kaiser Permanente mental health care workers in Southern California. More than 100 picketed outside the healthcare provider’s medical center on Sunset Blvd. Monday.
  • Health officials in Merced County have confirmed its first human case of bird flu.

California Looks To Offshore Wind As Next Green Energy Source 

In July, the California Energy Commission unanimously approved a sweeping plan to develop a massive floating offshore wind industry in ocean waters — a first-of-its-kind undertaking that will require billions in public and private investments and could transform parts of the coast.

The new state plan sets the path for harnessing wind power from hundreds of giant turbines, each as tall as a 70-story building, floating in the ocean about 20 miles off Humboldt Bay and Morro Bay. The untapped energy is expected to become a major power source as California electrifies vehicles and switches to clean energy.

Adam Stern, Executive Director of Offshore Wind California, an industry group, outlines the next steps now that the plan has been unveiled. “The two next most important steps have to do with ports and transmission in ports. We need to get the areas in our ports ready to support offshore wind so they can withstand the weight of the towers and turbines that will be assembled on them,” Stern said. “We also need to develop the supply chain that will be centered in perhaps as many as a dozen ports along California’s coast.” 

The Energy Commission’s plan estimates that just the work to upgrade California’s ports will cost $11-$12 billion, much of it publicly funded. The plan identifies the large ports of Humboldt, Long Beach and Los Angeles as viable for storing, staging and assembling parts needed for offshore wind operations.

Kaiser Mental Health Workers Hit The Picket Line In Los Angeles

Thousands of Kaiser Permanente mental health care workers are picketing for a second day across Southern California.

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Kaiser mental health professionals approved a strike earlier this month after the National Union of Healthcare Workers and Kaiser could not come to a contract agreement. Kaiser workers said they want the HMO to provide employees seven hours of guaranteed time per week to handle things like emails, filling out patient charts and other duties, and they want the HMO to restore pensions and agree to better pay.

Bargaining sessions are scheduled for Wednesday and Friday.

Merced County Reports Its First Human Bird Flu Case 

The Merced County Department of Public Health has confirmed its first human case of H5N1 bird flu.

The dairy worker is believed to have been infected directly from infected cattle.

Human bird flu cases have also been confirmed in Tulare and Kings counties. So far, the state has confirmed 13 human cases. All of those who have tested positive have experienced mild symptoms.

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