Offshore wind proponents offer smoke and mirrors

September 21, 2026

OPINION by MANDY DAVIS

Did you know that hype can be used as a verb or a noun? Here are a couple of definitions and examples of appropriate use.

Hype as a verb – “To publicize or promote especially by extravagant, inflated or misleading claims.”  For example, local politicians hype the benefits of offshore wind knowing full well the negative impacts to our communities and environment.

Hype as a noun includes, “swindle, deception, or trick.” For example, the offshore wind companies dished out huge helpings of industry hype for years before the Central Coast leases were issued to confuse the public and impart an impression of professionalism and community concern, when in reality neither was the case.

Offshore wind as a viable energy source has been in the crosshairs locally for several years now and as time goes by the industry proponents’ hubris and use of hype has been revealed through astute research by the REACT Alliance and the emergence of recent peer reviewed papers.

Worldwide, research has revealed significant environmental impacts (try a 3 degree increase in surface water temps near and downwind from large wind turbine arrays, and significant (20%) downwind surface mixing efficiency reduction.

As electrical bills rise, the claims of cost reduction to the end users has been debunked as well and the word “energy poverty” has become a reality in many European countries that have unwisely depended too much on offshore wind’s intermittent, unreliable and costly energy profiles. Offshore wind is now being recognized as a costly and unrealistic answer to our more than immediate energy needs.

As if the economic downsides weren’t enough, offshore wind is found to be highly destructive to the deep ocean and near shore benthic marine ecosystems and as such negatively impacts our fisheries and coastal economies and communities.

Additionally, it is proving to be of major concern to our national security as evidenced by Sweden denying 22 new offshore wind projects citing national security concerns around the building of turbine arrays off their coast

It’s easy to believe NGOs like the Sierra Club, SLO Climate Coalition and the NRDC, and their pro-offshore wind stance without doing your own research; but consider this…would you trust an NGO or politician that is funded by the industry they’re promoting?

We sure as hell didn’t four years ago and still don’t! That’s why REACT Alliance was founded; to get the public the real information regarding offshore wind so you can make an informed decision.

Check out our website….better yet, attend our forum on Nov. 7 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Botanical Garden. Do your own research and you will find floating offshore wind should never be allowed on the Central Coast.

We, at REACT,  have coined a new word for those that oppose marine industrialization but support offshore wind…HYPEocrite. Don’t be one! Oppose offshore wind. Speak out for the oceans. Protect our home!

You have a choice. You have a voice.

Mandy Davis is the president of REACT Alliance and a Morro Bay resident. REACT Alliance is a local organization established to educate and inform the public about the issues involved with offshore wind.