Posted on Dec 31, 2022
California offshore wind promises a new gold rush while slashing emissions
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https://www.npr.org/2022/12/30/ [login to see] /california-offshore-wind-promises-a-new-gold-rush-while-slashing-emissions
Installation of enormous floating wind turbines needed to turn West Coast ocean gales into clean electricity remains years off, but results of a federal lease auction this month off California promised to kickstart a work boom on the state's northern and central coasts.
The farming of wind power from American waters will be crucial in efforts to slash emissions of heat-trapping pollution from fossil fuels and ensure reliable supplies of electricity. While offshore wind farms are plentiful abroad and onshore wind energy is common through the U.S., just a handful of offshore turbines have so far been installed with many more planned along the East, West and Gulf coasts and potentially off Hawaii.
The redevelopment of 80 acres of waterfront land in Humboldt County into a hub for offshore wind operators and their vessels is imminent following the auction. Similar work will be needed in Morro Bay, onshore from three planned clusters of wind turbines.
"The work starts now," said Jeff Hunerlach, a building trades union leader based in Humboldt County after energy companies and joint ventures committed a total of $757 million to develop five floating wind farms clustered into two swaths of open ocean off Humboldt and Morro Bay.
Installation of enormous floating wind turbines needed to turn West Coast ocean gales into clean electricity remains years off, but results of a federal lease auction this month off California promised to kickstart a work boom on the state's northern and central coasts.
The farming of wind power from American waters will be crucial in efforts to slash emissions of heat-trapping pollution from fossil fuels and ensure reliable supplies of electricity. While offshore wind farms are plentiful abroad and onshore wind energy is common through the U.S., just a handful of offshore turbines have so far been installed with many more planned along the East, West and Gulf coasts and potentially off Hawaii.
The redevelopment of 80 acres of waterfront land in Humboldt County into a hub for offshore wind operators and their vessels is imminent following the auction. Similar work will be needed in Morro Bay, onshore from three planned clusters of wind turbines.
"The work starts now," said Jeff Hunerlach, a building trades union leader based in Humboldt County after energy companies and joint ventures committed a total of $757 million to develop five floating wind farms clustered into two swaths of open ocean off Humboldt and Morro Bay.
California offshore wind promises a new gold rush while slashing emissions
Posted from npr.org
State of California
Energy
Environment
Posted >1 y ago
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HAPPY NEW YEAR 2023: PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
...Jeff Tittel, a veteran New Jersey environmentalist and former president of the state's Sierra Club chapter, points out that many of the wind developers setting up operations in the U.S. retain extensive fossil fuel operations, which he says erodes trust. RWE, for example, operates natural gas-fired power plants across Western Europe. Equinor traces its roots back 50 years when it was founded as the Norwegian State Oil Company, Statoil, and it remains a fossil fuel giant.
"I kind of get it, that energy companies want to diversify, like they used to be coal, and then they went into oil and then they went into wind and solar," Tittel said. "Does that mean that they're willing to go to one hundred percent renewable and put their other businesses out of business? That's why I say there's a trust issue."
For unions, working for fossil fuel companies is nothing new. What's new for them are vast workforce opportunities in a fast-emerging industry — one that's slowing the destruction of a livable climate, instead of contributing to it.
"This is a climate change issue," said Hunerlach, the union official in Humboldt County. "We're really excited to be able to be part of this historic new industry."
...Jeff Tittel, a veteran New Jersey environmentalist and former president of the state's Sierra Club chapter, points out that many of the wind developers setting up operations in the U.S. retain extensive fossil fuel operations, which he says erodes trust. RWE, for example, operates natural gas-fired power plants across Western Europe. Equinor traces its roots back 50 years when it was founded as the Norwegian State Oil Company, Statoil, and it remains a fossil fuel giant.
"I kind of get it, that energy companies want to diversify, like they used to be coal, and then they went into oil and then they went into wind and solar," Tittel said. "Does that mean that they're willing to go to one hundred percent renewable and put their other businesses out of business? That's why I say there's a trust issue."
For unions, working for fossil fuel companies is nothing new. What's new for them are vast workforce opportunities in a fast-emerging industry — one that's slowing the destruction of a livable climate, instead of contributing to it.
"This is a climate change issue," said Hunerlach, the union official in Humboldt County. "We're really excited to be able to be part of this historic new industry."
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