Wind

'Governors are in play' | California and Louisiana access 'leverage' of US offshore wind group

West coast and Gulf states join Atlantic peers in federal partnership that sector experts say can open route to policy top table

California Governor Gavin Newsom
California Governor Gavin NewsomFoto: Gage Skidmore/Flickr
  • Tim Ferry
A federal initiative to bring together state governors and offshore wind developers with US government officials just accepted its first two members away from the East Coast – California and Louisiana – extending its reach to all three seaboards and giving the newcomers access to the policy top table, sector experts told Recharge.

The Federal-State Offshore Wind Implementation Partnership set up in June last years established a platform to accelerate interstate and public-private cooperation and is already credited with building momentum in the sector.

“As an industry where decision-making is split between the federal and state governments, any partnership that formally brings them together in collaboration is needed,” Sam Salustro, vice president of Strategic Communications for the Business Network for Offshore Wind (BNOW), told Recharge.

“The industry’s recent explosion of activity is due in no small part to greater coordination between federal and state governments, bringing into greater alignment permitting and procurement decisions, and public investment decisions,” he added.

The US sector saw some $10bn invested this year alone, much of it in port, supply chain, and workforce capacity, while state procurement targets rose to 77.4GW.

California and Louisiana “will be able to leverage a lot of the lessons learned” in the Atlantic industry, said Jose Zayas, executive vice president on Policy and Programs for the American Council on Renewable Energy (Acore).

California just saw five leases auctioned off its coastline to enable state targets of 2-5GW by 2030 and 25GW by 2045. Floating wind power generated over its deep waters however lacks a clear path to market, with no central authority able to set up a solicitation, and would potentially benefit from East Coast experience.
The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) meanwhile is in play for development with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the lead regulator of energy development in federal waters, just issuing a proposed sales notice for up to three leases holding around 3GW of combined capacity.
Louisiana holds some 60% of the US offshore energy through its massive oil & gas sector, with an existing supply chain, particularly its fleet of industrial vessels, will be an asset for the budding offshore wind sector.

“The Gulf has a lot of oil and gas platform vessels that are going to be really good for certain parts of the offshore wind industry,” Zayas said.

Speaking at the Department of Energy (DoE) hosted floating wind summit last week, Louisiana governor Jon Bel Edwards said: “We joined this partnership to help provide leadership in the Gulf region on aspects of wind energy such as building out a supply chain and fielding a skilled workforce to support the offshore wind economy.”

'Awareness and leverage'

While the federal-state partnership has no set authority (or budget), it is an important forum because “the governors are in play”, said Zayas.

The governors are “the conduit to their state energy offices [which] is going to drive how the procurement RFPs (request for proposals) are going to be done... for their next set of lease blocks and power purchase agreements.”

For developers that are “being invited to the roundtables of the governors, partnerships, federal government groups and so forth, you could argue that that will manifest not only in awareness, but leverage,” said Zayas.

This leverage can help direct investment dollars where the industry needs them most, he added.

Transmission networks are a key area for cooperation in the industry. Multiple studies, including a recent one done by Brattle Group, highlight the benefits of regional grid transmission for the industry.

“If states come together to develop an integrated plan for offshore wind, billions of dollars are going to be saved,” said Zayas.

The partnership “gives you the framework and the platform to create that.”

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Published 27 February 2023, 16:40Updated 27 February 2023, 16:40
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