San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
SMOLENS Third of state electricity renewable
cording to The Mercury News.
Beyond the carbonreducing benefits, Chiu said his Assembly Bill 525 would create 14,000 jobs. The measure has been endorsed by the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, which represents 500,000 construction workers.
The group Environment California also has endorsed the bill. Other environmental organizations, while generally supportive of wind power, say more needs to be understood about how the proposed projects would affect marine life before they take a position. Still others have expressed outright opposition.
Commercial fishing organizations also have expressed concerns about whether the wind farms would put fishing areas off limits.
According to one report, the Navy has expressed a willingness to make the wind farms happen. The Department of Defense raised concerns about initial proposals to place wind turbines off Morro Bay and Diablo Canyon on the Central Coast because they could interfere with operations. That was not considered an issue with a third location off Humboldt County.
But after discussions, those sites were refined last year and appeared to be more acceptable to the Navy.
In an interview with Greentech Media, Steve Chung, the Navy’s encroachment program director for the Southwest region, said wind farms in the zones identified in the new map could still affect operations, but added that those conf licts could be managed “with long-term protective measures and additional collaboration with some of our partners.”
“DOD is committed to moving forward with the dialogue, committed to being part of the solution toward helping California and our agency partners achieve their goals,” Chung said.
However, Greentech also reported that potential wind farm developers said there wouldn’t be enough space at the Central Coast sites to create a viable market.
The Humboldt location raises different questions. Once energy is sent ashore via cable, how will it be transmitted far away? The entire county has a population of about 135,000 people and nearby counties also are sparsely populated. The region doesn’t need a lot more power and the grid up there can’t handle much, but it doesn’t need to. The idea would be to send the wind-generated electricity south to the San Francisco Bay Area.
But building heavy transmission lines over the rugged terrain there would be a logistical challenge and run into environmental concerns. There has been some discussion about laying an undersea cable south where it can connect with more substantial electricity infrastructure. Central Coast operations could hook up to infrastructure created for decommissioned power plants.
The three locations, some 20 to 30 miles off the coast, come with another logistical challenge: deep water. Most wind farm structures around the world are sunk into the ocean f loor. But that’s not feasible with the depths at the California sites. Instead, the operations would use f loating windmills anchored at the bottom of the sea.
The first operational f loating wind farm launched in 2017 off the coast of Scotland, with turbines more than 570 feet above the surface of the water, according to Rob Nikolewski of The San Diego Union-tribune.
The waters off the Central and Northern California coast are deemed most ideal for wind power for a variety of reasons. One is that the
Department of Defense has essentially ruled out Southern California because of extensive military installations and ocean activity.
Further, the targeted areas are known for consistent, strong winds that blow fairly steadily at night, according Nikolewski. That, of course, is when solar energy production stops.
He added that if energy storage technology does not develop as quickly as anticipated, the state may rely more on offshore wind production when other emissions-free resources are not available.
California has been aggressive in addressing climate change and setting goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
About a third of California’s electricity is generated from renewable sources, according to the California Energy Commission. The state has set targets of 60 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2045.
Advocates believe distant ocean wind can be a big part of getting California there.
Tweet of the Week
Goes to Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1), a senior producer at MSNBC.
“West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice on CNN: ‘I don’t know really what the big rush to get rid of the mask is, because these masks have saved a lot, a lot of lives.’”
michael.smolens@ sduniontribune.com