The Port San Luis Harbor District has entered into a project evaluation agreement with Clean Energy Terminals (CET), a leading developer of offshore wind port facilities across the U.S., to asses the development of the West Coast's first offshore wind operations and maintenance port.
The agreement enables the parties to jointly evaluate the technical and commercial feasibility of an offshore wind operations and maintenance (O&M) port facility in San Luis Obispo Bay.
The facility could be utilized by multiple wind projects located in federal waters off California's Central Coast.
If an O&M facility is found to be feasible, the agreement also sets out a pathway for parties to negotiate a lease option and subsequent long-term lease for the project's development and operations.
Project evaluation is expected to take between six and 18 months, with development of an O&M facility taking six-to-eight years in total, subject to permitting and the timing of California's offshore wind projects.
Any future lease option or long-term lease agreement will require a separate Harbor District Board approval.
Offshore wind is a multi-billion-dollar maritime energy industry that has experienced significant growth internationally and on the U.S. East Coast. It is now emerging off the Golden State's coast as part of California's effort to transition to zero-emission electricity generation by 2045.
Recent port studies and public feedback have suggested that larger offshore wind-related port facilities, such as the staging and integration ports under development in Humboldt Bay and Long Beach, are not well-suited to the Central Coast.
Instead, smaller facilities such as O&M ports, which are typically no more than 5 acres in size and support vessels that come into port approximately once every other week, could be a good fit for the region.
An O&M port would enable Central Coast communities to tap into the new job creation and local economic benefits that are stemming from the offshore wind industry without significant coastal industrialization, according to the partners.
"The Harbor District's mission is to support commercial, recreational, and coastal-related activities, and to this end, offshore wind represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for San Luis Obispo Bay that we simply cannot overlook.
"The commercial and energy-related activities of the last century led to infrastructure investments that harbor users still enjoy today, including Harford Pier and the federal breakwater. Offshore wind represents this century's opportunity to invest in local maritime projects that will ensure the Harbor's role as a critical economic engine in SLO County for generations to come,” said Suzy Watkins, Harbor Director of the Port San Luis Harbor District.
