Last year California auctioned off five wind farm lease areas in the northern and central parts of our coast, with winning bids totaling $757 million dollars. The installation of floating wind turbines will help us shift towards clean energy, harnessing some of the ocean breezes that help to drive the productivity of our ocean.
However, due to our steep continental shelf and extremely deep waters, entirely new technology will be needed. Our wind farms will be among the first in the world to “float” on giant platforms tethered to the seafloor in depths over 1000 ft. They will be connected to each other and land by electrical cables dangling the water column.
CMSF has taken a leadership role in understanding the impacts of floating offshore wind, so that we can minimize harm to marine life. Since much of this technology is untested, and in most cases, not even developed yet, we are working with expert scientists to understand how to reduce potential harm to whales, dolphins, sea birds, bats, seals and sea lions, fish and fisheries as well as our bottom habitats.
Through funding from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), CMSF recently worked with Southall Environmental Associates and others to complete a Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Vulnerability Assessment, which will be released soon. It identifies the species most at risk, the location and timing of this risk and offers information to help design and operate floating wind sustainably. In addition, CMSF is hosting a series of webinars on the knowns and unknowns of marine life impacts from offshore wind farms. Our last summit focused on marine mammals and sea bird impacts, was attended by over 400 interested individuals.
Join us for our upcoming summit in October on impacts to sea turtles and fish. By bringing together the West Coasts’ best scientists, industry, Tribal, NGO and agency partners, CMSF is working to find common ground to help protect our ocean.
These offshore windfarms are going to be 30 miles at sea in 2600 feet of water, anchored with triple moorings over 2600 feet long to triangulate the mooring, and tethered together with electrical cables between each to transfer the power to a floating substation and then 30 miles across the seafloor to shore through a Native American Marine Sanctuary.
This tech is so new they haven't tested it yet. It will require a deep-water port (which do not exist within 300 miles of the sites) to assemble and then ships (which haven't been built yet) to transport, install, and maintain the new windmills with blades taller than the Statue of Liberty. Support vessels to maintain the farms need to be…