June 7, 2022 — A task force on renewable energy in California, as well as members of the public, last week heard how credits will be assigned to bidders in a lease auction of offshore tracts to develop wind-powered systems that could generate up to 3 gigawatts of electricity.
More than 300 people — most of them from companies related to the power generation industry — attended the online meeting of the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s California Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force.
An update on the lease sales included a timeline to the online auction scheduled for this fall and an explanation of various plans bidders will have to submit and credits that can be granted for their plans to support the workforce and mitigate impacts.
Some task force members from Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties expressed concerns over project effects on a proposed national marine sanctuary and the low percentage of credits for mitigating impacts.
Amanda Lefton, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said seven lease sales are planned by 2025, including off the coasts of New York and the Carolinas, with a goal of producing 30 gigawatts of power by 2030.