PD Editorial: Offshore wind power can’t come soon enough

The waters off California’s coast could become vital in the battle against climate change. Last week, President Joe Biden announced an ambitious plan to open 250,000 acres of the state’s coastal waters to wind development. If only it could get done faster.

Under the plan, wind projects could be built in federal waters northwest of Morro Bay and west of Humboldt Bay. Within a decade, hundreds of huge floating turbines anchored to the Pacific Ocean floor by cables could generate 4,600 megawatts of electricity, sufficient to power 1.6 million homes.

These developments would be the largest-scale projects ever proposed in the U.S., dwarfing the 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind project planned off Massachusetts and the 1,100-megawatt Ocean Wind project proposed for the New Jersey coast.

But there are significant hurdles, and the practical ones — like how to anchor turbines to the deep Pacific Ocean floor in a way that minimizes environmental harm — might be the least of them. Scientists and engineers are good at overcoming those kinds of challenges. Many politicians, activists and people who live along the shore are interested in creating even more problems.

Lawsuits from environmental groups are a near certainty if state and federal regulators don’t fully study and address potential effects on wildlife. Maybe even if they do.

Challenges could come from the military, too. It wouldn’t be the first time that the Defense Department raises objections to offshore wind projects, warning that they could interfere with military operations and movements.

Property owners along the coast might sue to prevent the project because they think it will spoil their lovely views. We have little sympathy for a position that is not only selfish but also self-defeating. If California and the world don’t take steps like this to deal with climate change, the view will be the least concern for coastal property owners battered by rising seas and increasingly violent storms. Besides, the turbines would be built about 20 miles offshore.

Any project would have to jump through a multitude of regulatory hoops.

Put it all together, and Biden’s announcement might not lead to actual electricity for a decade or more. That’s too long for a state that could benefit from the jobs and investment of such a large infrastructure project and for a world that desperately needs additional sources of clean energy.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has taken steps to deal with some of the hurdles. He’s proposed funding new environmental science positions at state agencies to analyze proposals and speed the regulatory review. He also wants to fund port improvements at Humboldt Bay to support offshore wind development.

That’s a start. The governor and lawmakers next should look for ways to streamline approvals by state agencies. They shouldn’t cut important environmental reviews, but surely there are opportunities to move things along more quickly and expedite legal challenges.

The massive wind farms could help California meet its ambitious greenhouse gas emissions goals, replacing electricity produced by coal, gas and other fossil fuels. Though there’s no guarantee that the power generated will go to California, it will go somewhere that people will pay for cleaner energy.

Coastal wind power will be an important step toward a better, more sustainable future for the nation and the world. The sooner, the better.

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