Tuesday marks the first-ever U.S. auction for leases to develop commercial-scale floating wind farms in the deep waters off the West Coast
to develop floating platforms that could vastly expand offshore wind in the United States.
The sale is designed to promote a domestic supply chain and create union jobs. Bidders can convert part of their bids into credits that benefit those affected by the wind development — local communities, tribes and commercial fishermen. As for visibility, “in absolutely perfect conditions, crystal clear on the best days, at the highest point, you might be able to see small dots on the horizon,” said Larry Oetker, executive director of the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Conservation and Recreation District, which has been preparing its deep-water port for the projects.
The lease areas have the potential to generate 4.5 gigawatts of energy -- enough for 1.5 million homes — and could bring big changes to communities in the rural coastal regions nearest the leases. “We have hundreds of acres of vacant, underutilized industrial property right on the existing navigation channel ... and there’s no overhead bridges or power lines or anything,” he said.Environmentalists are concerned about the impacts on threatened and endangered whales, which could become entangled in the cables that will anchor the turbines. There are also concerns about birds and bats colliding with the turbine blades and whales getting struck by vessels towing components to the site.
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