Opponents of wind energy farms off Morro Bay win another round

June 16, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

Opponents of wind energy farms off the coast of Morro Bay won another round when the House approved a version of Trump’s big beautiful bill known as Inflation Reduction Act that includes a timeline for subsidies that make the projects less likely to happen.

In addition to the wind farms, there are plans to industrialize Port San Luis and the Morro Bay Harbor. The support systems on land would include massive piers, and could require new breakwaters and dredging.

The House’s version of the Inflation Reduction Act repeals tax credits for projects that don’t start construction within 60 days of the bill’s passage. The proposed bill also requires companies to eliminate Chinese goods from their supply chain before the end of the year, and then began operating by the end of 2028.

In 2022, the federal government auctioned off three offshore wind energy sites located between 20 and 30 miles off the coast of Morro Bay. The goal was to have the windmills in the water by 2030. However, the projects are dependent on government subsidies and the industrialization of several local ports.

After the House passed its version of the bill despite pressure from a group of house Republicans to continue Biden’s clean energy tax credits, proponents of offshore wind energy began lobbying the Senate. The Senate is currently reviewing the House’s version.

Meanwhile, with the support of several members of the Port San Luis Harbor Commission, the port currently has three separate feasibility studies to determine the viability of Port San Luis for an industrial operations and maintenance port at a cost of more than $3 million.

On May 21, a group of pro-wind energy proponents hosted a roundtable in Sacramento under the tagline, “When they go low, we go local.” Inaccurately listed as the president of the Port San Luis Harbor District, Commissioner Bob Vessley was a panelist who mentioned in his opening that the port has a history regarding energy.

“I’ve learned a lot about offshore wind,” Vessley said. “I told them this is a juggernaut and we need to be involved in this.”

A pro-offshore wind energy group out of Washington D.C., Greenlight, has sent staff to the Central Coast to promote the proposed off-shore wind energy farms and the industrialization of ports.

In a video posted on Facebook, the group claims the offshore wind farms will bring tens of thousands of new jobs to the area. However, three years ago, proponents said that after construction, the farms would result in the employment of approximately 250 people.

On the other side, REACT Alliance, a nonprofit formed to protect California’s Central Coast from the “destructive impacts of offshore wind energy development,” recently asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to rescind a $426,719,810 grant awarded to the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District because of misappropriation of federal funds.

There are also wind energy farms proposed for Northern California, along with plans to industrialize Humboldt Bay to provide the needed infrastructure.

In a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation, REACT President Mandy Davis notes that the grant funds were mandated to “improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of freight and people in and across rural and urban areas.” Because the project does not comply with the requirements of the grant, Davis wants the funds returned.

“There are ample reasons to terminate the grant and to demand a return of unspent disbursed funds from the Humboldt Harbor District,” Davis wrote in her June 4 letter.

While the majority of San Luis Obispo County residents initially supported the “green energy” projects, sentiments changed as information regarding plans to industrialize Port San Luis and portions of the Morro Bay waterfront spread through the community.

Industrialization of the proposed Central Coast ports would have significant impacts on the local economy, the fishing industry and the ecosystems.

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