Offshore Wind

A new industry is setting sail from the Central Coast.

 

Offshore wind energy is making its West Coast debut off the coast of Morro Bay and marking the U.S. launch of floating turbine technology.

Map showing the Morro Bay wind energy area

MEET THE DEVELOPERS

Equinor logo

Equinor

A Norwegian multinational that owns and operates the world’s first floating wind farm, the 30 MW Hywind Scotland, Equinor is also developing two large wind farms offshore New York and Massachusetts, Empire Wind and Beacon Wind.

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Golden State Wind logo

Golden State Wind

GSW is the California branch of Ocean Winds, a multinational company with fixed and floating offshore wind projects around the world, including the 25 MW WindFloat Atlantic in Portugal and two East Coast projects under development.

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Invenergy logo

Invenergy

One of the largest privately owned clean energy developers, owners and operators in North America, Chicago-based Invenergy has developed more than 30 GW of clean energy, including 117 land-based wind projects.

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REACH and several partners are working to position the region as the nation’s launching pad for commercial-scale floating offshore wind.

This spans planning for infrastructure, workforce and other industry needs and ensuring the Central Coast reaches its economic goals while helping the state and nation meet clean energy goals.

Infrastructure planning

The Central Coast has an array of opportunities to enhance its waterfront infrastructure to support the growth of the offshore wind industry, as outlined in a REACH report conducted in partnership with San Luis Obispo County, Santa Barbara County and the City of Morro Bay.

Reach, Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo County and Morro Bay City logos

Offshore wind's economic impact

A study commissioned by REACH found that the 376-square-mile wind energy area off the coast of Morro Bay could generate significant near- and long-term economic benefits on the Central Coast, as shown in this chart.

With the corresponding onshore infrastructure, a 3 gigawatt wind farm could generate 650 long-term jobs and an annual economic impact of $262 million, in addition to shorter-term benefits.

 

 

$262M

annual economic impact

650

long-term jobs

2411

5-year construction jobs

$2B

construction economic impact