Good morning Community Partners,
Here is your last newsletter of 2024 on offshore wind and related interests!
Wishing you all peace and relaxation as this year comes to an end.
Upcoming opportunities for leadership, growing our networks, learning, and funding
- The Humboldt Bay Harbor District met Thursday December 12 at the Woodley Island Marina Meeting Room, 601 Startare Drive in Eureka.
- This was Commissioner Norton’s first meeting. There were two heavy lift marine terminal items on the agenda – the regular staff update which might include modifications to the project timeline, as well as an MOU with the District, Port of Long Beach and State Lands Commission that the District Board will be voting on. The MOU starts on pdf page 245 in the agenda packet, or you can view an excerpt of that part of the packet here.
- There is a lot of good stuff in the MOU. Areas where it could be strengthened:
- Including water quality and efforts to avoid noise pollution
- Specifically reference community protections
- Lift up the importance of community agreements in addition to community benefits programs
- Specifically name commitment to collaborating to adhere to SB 1000 (environmental justice; intention is absolutely in the document, and a way to strengthen is to reference the legislative requirement)
- Specifically name commitment to local hire (regional workforce development is noted, but local hire is not)
- Including collaboration on lifecycle analysis and effective decommissioning strategies
- Oregon Department of Land, Conservation, and Development is hosting a series of Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap Roundtables
- Meeting number 3 will be held in Coos Bay (with a virtual option) 9:00am-5:00pm on Dec 19, 2024
- These meetings are open to the public with opportunity to comment
- Information here
- Ocean Protection Council 2026-2030 Strategic Plan Engagement
- The Ocean Protection Council (OPC) is seeking early public feedback to inform OPC’s forthcoming 2026-2030 Strategic Plan. Building from the current 2020-2025 Strategic Plan to Protect California’s Coast and Ocean, the new Strategic Plan will guide OPC’s work to protect California’s coast and ocean through 2030.
- A draft 2026-2030 Strategic Plan will be released in late Spring 2025 for written public comment. Please share your priorities to inform this draft Strategic Plan using the form below by 11:59 p.m. Monday, February 17, 2025.
- OPC will be hosting a local strategic plan listening session on Wednesday, January 22, 2025
- Location: Humboldt Coastal Nature Center: 220 Stamps Ln, Arcata, CA 95521
- Time: 10:00am – 12:00pm
- CA Ports and OSW Symposium
- February 21, 2025, Long Beach, CA (9am-6pm, including a tour of the Harbor)
- The Symposium is being organized by the California Energy Commission in collaboration with the Port of Long Beach. It will be an opportunity for community members, organizations, agencies, Tribal Nations, and industry to come together for discussions relating to:
- Upgrading ports to achieve offshore wind, climate and environmental goals
- Developing the new offshore wind workforce in port communities
- Working together to improve portside communities
- Register here
- CORE Hub has a couple of travel stipends available to help a small Network delegation participate. Please let me know as soon as possible if you’re interested in travel support to help you get to the Symposium.
- During either the evening of Feb 20 or 21, we are hoping to organize a meet up with THE Impact Project (coalition of organizations organizing around the wind project at the Port of Long Beach) and other entities to grow relationships between groups across the state that might have some shared values and advocacy interests in how offshore wind is developed. Let us know if you’ll be attending the Symposium so we can make sure you have an invite to that gathering.
- Pacific OSW Summit 2025
- May 19-21, 2025, in Sacramento, CA
- The Pacific Offshore Wind Summit brings together state and federal officials, industry leaders, and other stakeholders to mobilize support and build momentum for California to meet its ambitious planning goals
- Climate Smart Communities Initiative (CSCI) is now accepting applications for grants to help communities accelerate their climate resilience plans and projects!
- The initiative will be accepting grant proposals into March 3, 2025, and expects to announce multiple awards in the summer of 2025.
- $100,000 per award, can be used over a twelve-month period to advance activities ranging from risk assessments and community engagement to project prioritization and initial implementation.
- CSCI is an initiative of the Climate Resilience Fund and is supported through philanthropy and funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.
Project Updates:
- BOEM’s draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) was published on November 13, 2024.
- Comment deadline is 2/12/25
- BOEM will host 2 public scoping meetings; verbal public comments will be accepted at both meetings:
- Tues 1/28/25 at 5pm
- Thurs 1/30/25 at 12pm
- The purpose of the draft PEIS is to identify programmatic mitigation measures that could be used as conditions for approval in Construction and Operations Plans for Humboldt and Morro Bay Wind Energy Areas
- In collaboration with a few local partners, legal counsel, consultants, and organizations working around the state, CORE is coordinating development of:
- Full comment letter – sign on (draft ready to share on Tues 1/21)
- Brief summary letter (4-5 pages)
- Template for individual entities to adapt and send in (ready on Fri 1/31)
- Brief summary letter for Tribal Nations (4-5 pages)
- Template for individual entities to adapt and send in (ready on Fri 1/31)
- Let us know if you are interested in informing or contributing to the comment letters and advocacy processes.
- CA Independent System Operator (CAISO) has published qualified project sponsors for the Humboldt to Collinsville substation and transmission line
- The three potential sponsors (developers) are as follows:
- Horizon West Transmission, LLCin Coordination with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)
- LS Power Grid California, LLC
- California Grid Holdings LLC (CalGrid)
- We are working to connect with the potential sponsors and coordinate meetings with them and members of the Network.
- The Independent System Operator will consider whether the validated project sponsors are qualified, and then it will undertake the selection process to determine which qualified project sponsor should finance, construct, own, operate, and maintain each substation project. They are expected to announce the final project sponsor in April 2025. CEQA wouldn’t start for at least a year and would take place under the jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Commission.
- The three potential sponsors (developers) are as follows:
Resources, Information and Academic Articles:
- New report from UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment (CLEE)
- Published October 2024
- Community Benefits Tools and California Clean Energy Projects – This report is part of a new area of focus at CLEE to develop tools, analysis, and resources to realize environmental, economic, and equity benefits from climate infrastructure projects.
- Communities and governments at all levels are increasingly turning to community benefits tools to support an equitable climate transition, catalyze substantive long-term investments in community priorities, and achieve effective, durable projects. CLEE’s new report analyzes select policy drivers and tools that can help deliver community benefits and explains the ways in which enforcement, benefits, and other factors may differ between these mechanisms. The report also offers a comparison of four successful Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) and highlights six principles necessary for meaningful CBAs.
- Materials for your review include:
- CLEE’s new report, Community Benefits Tools and California Clean Energy Projects
- Community Benefits Agreements resources collection
- For more analysis of community benefits tools, including participatory budgeting and community oversight councils, please see CLEE’s recent publication, Facilitating Equity-Oriented Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Investments.
- Columbia Law School Community Benefits Agreements Database
- The Sabin Center has compiled this database of publicly available CBAs in conjunction with the publication of a guide on Expert Insights on Best Practices for Community Benefits Agreements
- Wind Energy Community Benefits Database
- This searchable database reflects community benefit agreements (CBAs), community benefit funds, donations, and other forms of benefits from land-based and offshore wind energy developments in the U.S. compiled by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) from 2022 to 2024.
- Jobs to Move America launched the Community Benefits Agreement Resource Center (CBARC), a knowledge hub to provide support and resources to those developing benefits frameworks that aid workers and communities most impacted by the development of advanced and green technologies.
- Offshore Wind Environmental Monitoring Guidance Literature Database
- A collection of peer-reviewed publications and grey literature collected by The CA Marine Sanctuary Foundation related to environmental monitoring and potential impacts of floating offshore wind (FOSW) developments. This database includes scientifically rigorous grey literature such as white papers, policies, and proceedings that have not undergone formal peer review.
- Port Electrification Handbook
- Resource from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- The Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity created the Port Electrification Handbook to aid maritime ports in their clean energy transition.
In the news:
- RWE Pauses Investments in US Offshore Wind
- Reported by RTO Insider November 13th, 2024
- Developer, and leaseholder of a Humboldt Wind Energy Area (WEA) ‘Canopy Project’, says Trump’s Election Injects Risk and Uncertainty into Market
- All of these projects are only in planning and are at best several years away from starting construction. But they give RWE exposure to a wide range of the technical, political and economic considerations facing the offshore wind industry as it tries to overcome recent challenges and get steel in the water in the U.S. With the election last week of a strident wind power opponent as president, new challenges loom.
- Ciara Emery, RWE Local Government and Stakeholder Engagement Manager, has shared with CORE Hub staff that nothing has changed regarding RWE’s Canopy project in the Humboldt Wind Energy Area. They remain committed to moving it forward with the local team in place. If you have questions or would like to connect with Ciara directly, contact her at Ciara.Emery@rwe.com
- ‘Donald Trump will re-inherit the offshore wind success story he kickstarted’
- November 22, 2024
- Opinion piece from Liz Burdock, CEO of Oceantic, in Recharge News
- What do Trump’s picks to head Energy and Interior signal for renewables?
- Diana DiGangi, Utility Dive, November 21, 2024
- US Senate advances offshore wind revenue sharing bill to shore up coastlines and build infrastructure
- Tim Ferry, Recharge, November 20, 2024
- Note: there is an alternative offshore wind revenue share bill potentially being proposed by some of our west coast legislators. We’ll share more on that once we get an update.
- Offshore Wind California
- OWC is a coalition of Offshore Wind Industry partners that engages significantly in advocacy and lobbying, as well as public education, in support of offshore wind development in California. Their site includes a news page with recent articles about offshore wind nationwide.