Potential Offshore Wind Energy Areas in California: An Assessment of Locations, Technology, and Costs

Abstract

The report has been technically reviewed by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and it has been approved for publication. The views and conclusions contained in this report are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the United States government, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

The Cost of Floating Offshore Wind Energy in California Between 2019 and 2032

“…We included these CapEx scenarios to represent the uncertainty of future floating offshore wind deployment (and the associated cost reductions) and because three CapEx scenarios are required as inputs to the RESOLVE model. This analysis builds on an earlier study assessing the costs of floating offshore wind in California (Musial et al 2016a). In the 2019-2020 IRP process, floating cost estimates from a separate analysis were used, NREL's 2018 Annual Technology Baseline (NREL 2019a).…”

“…The offshore wind technical resource 11 was reassessed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in early 2020 and was found to be more than 200 gigawatts (GW) (Optis et al 2020). In a 2016 cost study conducted by NREL (Musial et al 2016a), offshore wind deployment scenarios were considered that suggest a build-out of offshore wind of up to 15 GW would be technically feasible in California after expected floating technology advancements are realized, but the study did not consider other factors related to environmental or conflicting use.…”

Spatial and temporal variation of offshore wind power and its value along the Central California Coast

“…Although WIND Toolkit provides power estimates using a generic power curve with a rated power of 2.0 MW (e.g., King et al 2014), this particular power curve does not capture recent advancements in turbine technology for offshore wind (Musial et al 2016). For example, the proposed wind farms in California plan to use at least 10 MW turbines (Trident Winds 2016).…”

“…Offshore wind energy in particular has grown significantly because it offers several advantages over land-based winds and solar energy, including stronger and more consistent winds over the ocean, and less likely to impact other land-use activities (Sun et al 2012). To date, most wind farms are installed in relatively shallow waters (<50 m) using fixed foundations (Musial et al 2016). However, technology is rapidly advancing, and floating wind farms are being deployed worldwide in deeper waters (e.g., 120 m depth) farther from shore (Global Wind Energy Council GWEC 2017).…”

“…Hong and Möller 2011, Dvorak et al 2012, He and Kammen 2014 or the daily and seasonal variability subjected to specific spatial points like buoy sites or spatial aggregation over a domain (e.g. Stoutenburg et al 2010, Musial et al 2016. As more offshore wind projects are proposed, a comprehensive analysis of offshore wind power patterns over spatial, diurnal, and seasonal scales is needed.…”