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Auction for Morro Bay area wind power sites nets over $400 million

December 8, 2022

By KAREN VELIE

The federal auction of three offshore wind power sites located off the coast near Morro Bay ended Wednesday with bids totaling approximately $425.6 million.

The wind turbines will float in water more than 20 miles off the coast, with the electricity sent ashore via cables along the ocean floor. Equinor Wind US LLC, Central California Offshore Wind LLC, and Invenergy California Offshore LLC won the three leases off the Morro Bay coastline.

Last year, the federal Department of the Interior, in coordination with the Department of Defense, identified a 399-square-mile area northwest of Morro Bay as a location that will support three gigawatts of offshore wind. The federal agency also announced it was advancing wind energy projects located offshore of Humboldt County.

Then in May, the Biden Administration announced plans to auction five offshore areas for wind development, three northwest of Morro Bay and two of which are off of Humboldt County.

The bids for all five sites totaled $757 million. The sites could power up to 1.5 million homes.


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“Could power 1.5 million homes” for a very brief period when they are at peak output. I love all these renewable energy output claims that are only based on a very brief peak output. Funny they never quote a kWh figure or an availability factor to use for comparison.


6

Its all HOT air.


9

Let the lawsuits from the environmental groups begin. Legal issues will likely delay any construction for several decades.


31

What happens to these leases and if the state decides offshore wind is unfeasible for whatever reason (you pick one) too expensive, no infrastructure in place to support construction, venerable to winter storms and tsunamis, high maintenance and low lifespan, millions of gallons of dirty diesel fuel required to construct and maintain an offshore project of this size, unproven or nonexistent technology.


30

That risk does not belong to the taxpayers, for once.


-9

Most of the companies buying the leases are foreign owned. Funny. We should auction our share of the moon and sun.


8

Just like all of the oil companies. The only American oil is in the ground, once it’s pumped it belongs to stock holders.


We should all be getting checks like in Alaska.


4

Because nuclear power is completely without risk….


-22

Living is not without risk….


9