Defying Trump, California continues to bet big on offshore wind

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While the Trump administration takes extraordinary measures to halt the development of offshore wind power in the United States, Southern California is advancing a $4.7-billion plan to deploy hundreds of towering wind turbines in waters off the state’s coast.The proposed Pier Wind project at the Port of Long Beach is a 400-acre terminal for the positioning, storage and assembly of some of the world’s largest offshore wind turbines, which would be towed north to federal wind lease areas some 20 miles off Morro and Humboldt bays.Offshore wind is a key climate solution and officials say the project is crucial to helping California reach its goal of 25 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2045.

The Port of Long Beach is one of only two areas primed for the assembly work; the other is Humboldt Harbor near Eureka.The port will create the land for the project through a massive dredge-and-fill operation in the water.

This is the second in an occasional series on the state of the energy transition in California amid opposition from the Trump administration.California’s approach is to push forward with offshore wind preparations that fall within its jurisdiction, readying the ports and the power grid to eventually take on electricity from 1,000 turbines in federal waters.The aim is to wait out the current administration, which is notoriously hostile toward a form of renewable energy that is booming elsewhere in the world.“We’re just moving forward with all the things in our control because the port infrastructure has a long lead time,” said Suzanne Plezia, managing director of engineering services with the Port of Long Beach, on a recent catamaran ride around the harbor’s cranes and cargo towers.

The work is supposed to be completed within a decade.“We’re in it for the long haul because we do believe offshore wind is part of our energy future,” she said.

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