A promising start to a fruitful long-term relationship. That’s the upshot of a recent let’s-get-acquainted visit with the three offshore wind lease winners.
Over the course of two jam-packed days, the companies:
- toured Morro Bay, Diablo Canyon, Port San Luis, the Cal Poly pier and other sites
- met with a range of local government officials, labor organizations, the fishing industry, and tribal representatives
- attended an Innovation and Education Symposium with Cal Poly, Cuesta College, Allan Hancock College, SLO Partners, San Luis Coastal Education Foundation, SLO County Workforce Development Board, and others
- mingled with a range of regional leaders at a community reception
“The Central Coast really came together to give these global companies a comprehensive introduction to our community and explore the opportunities before us,” REACH President/CEO Melissa James said. “Together, we’ll be shaping what this new industry looks like not just for the Central Coast, but for the state and the nation, and these conversations set us off on the right foot.”
“We have a real interest and curiosity in working with the community and we’re coming to town with our ears open and ready to listen,” Golden State Wind CEO Tyler Studds said. “We’re excited to be working in Morro Bay, and really pleased with this opportunity to be touring around and meeting everybody.”
“We are excited to be here and working with all of you, hearing your perspectives on the opportunities and the challenges that advancing these projects are going to present,” Invenergy Executive Vice President Erin Lieberman said. “We are honored to be one of the five foundational lease holders here in California, and we hope that the work that we do and the precedent we set will be the standard for an industry that will be developed here.”
“What you’re going to start seeing from the three lessees pretty quickly is we want to get the communities involved. We want to get the stakeholders involved,” Equinor Director of Permitting Patrick Tennant said. “It’s exciting to be part of this community, and as a California native, seeing this stuff happen off our coast because this is where we need to be in the future.”
