California builds momentum in offshore wind with 7.6GW by 2035 interim centralised procurement goal
Utilities regulator urges state purchase 10.5GW of emerging clean energy technologies by 2035 to drive down costs and meet emissions and renewables targets
California’s nation-leading offshore wind goals gained momentum as state utility regulator urged procurement of up to 7.6GW of capacity by 2035.
Also this month its legislature passed a bond measure that includes $475m for offshore wind ports and $325m for clean energy transmission
CPUC’s targets “will help drive the creation of new jobs, a supply chain, and the economies of scale needed to make floating offshore wind an important part of California's clean energy future,” said Adam Stern, executive director of Offshore Wind California (OWC), a trade group of offshore wind developers and technology companies.
The floating wind target falls within the range of 7-10GW held within the five leases already sold to developers by the federal government in 2022 off the state’s Central and North Coasts.
Along with floating wind, CPUC encouraged procurement of 1GW of enhance geothermal systems (EGS) and 2GW of long duration energy storage (LDES).
These technologies were selected as offering the best chance for the state to meet its net-zero emissions goals by 2045 but are “not currently being procured by individual LSEs [load serving entities/ power providers] in significant enough amounts to achieve cost reductions,” CPUC said.
The regulator urges solicitations for ESG and energy storage starting in 2026 and floating wind in 2027.
The suggested procurement amounts will be further discussed and potentially firmly decided up at CPUC’s 22 August business meeting.
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