U.S. Interior Issues Draft Review of Wind Area With 1.6 Gigawatts Potential Offshore California

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Jan. 11 announced the release of its draft environmental assessment on the possible environmental and socioeconomic effects of commercial leases as well as related site assessment activities in the offshore Humboldt Wind Energy Area of California.

The Humboldt WEA covers an area of about 206 square miles and can generate up to 1.6 gigawatts of clean energy capable of powering over 560,000 homes. The project supports the Biden administration’s vision of developing 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.

The agency seeks comments on the competence of the environmental study and the actions considered to evade or decrease the potential environmental effects. The comments will be evaluated before further analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Before finalizing the installation of offshore wind energy infrastructure on a specific lease, the agency is required to conduct a review to examine the environmental outcomes of construction and operation in deliberation with tribes, government agencies, and the public. The site classification process includes geophysical, geotechnical, archaeological, and biological surveys required to advance project applications on specific leases.

The agency also looks forward to the public comments linked to potential impacts to historic heritage properties from business activities in the Humboldt WEA under the National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 Programmatic Agreement with the State of California.

The announcement begins a 30-day public review and comment duration on the draft EA, that will conclude on Feb. 10. To help public input, two virtual meetings will be held on Jan. 25 and 26.