Humboldt Has Offshore Wind Potential, Lacks Supply Chain and Workforce Says Consultant

[Stock photo from Wikipedia Commons, image by Martin Nikolaj Christensen from Sorø, Denmark] 

A globally-active consultant has told Humboldt County’s Board of Supervisors the area is “positioned to be a leading region in the US to host floating offshore wind” but supply chain and workforce capacities need to be expanded.

The region’s ability to accommodate offshore wind energy development and other issues affecting it were discussed at the Dec. 9 supervisors meeting during a presentation from Andy Logan of the Xodus, inc. consulting firm.

Wind energy projects are slated for two areas offshore of Eureka, with two global companies holding offshore wind energy development leases that they paid a combined $331 million to enter into.

There’s been a slowdown, however, as federal policies have turned against the offshore wind energy industry. The uncertainty challenges investment in projects that have high upfront costs.

Xodus’ report – Redwood Coast Region Offshore Wind Supply Chain and Workforce Assessment — focuses on local conditions, including what’s described as “weaknesses.”

“There isn’t an existing heavy fabrication industry in the region ready to support offshore wind, so there’s relatively limited manufacturing experience, particularly when thinking about delivering components at the scale required for an offshore wind project,” Logan told supervisors. “There also isn’t a great deal of experience in the region supporting offshore infrastructure projects.”

Logan described the inadequacies as “things that need to be taken into consideration when thinking about what is reasonable to expect from local businesses when developers are looking for local supply capability.”

He added, “If we want to see a greater share of economic benefits land locally, we’ll need to unlock some investment to enable that to happen.”

As with manufacturing, local workforce capability also needs to be enhanced.

Logan said only about 10 percent of Redwood Coast workers are “performing jobs that are required by the offshore wind industry” which demonstrates the need for “some form of support” to transition to wind energy work.

“It’s clear the industries with the highest employment in the region have relatively low transfer ability to the offshore wind industry, further reinforcing that the region is unlikely to have the capacity to support the development of an offshore wind industry without some efforts to attract workers or increase training pathways and career transition services,” he continued.

He said the region “will likely require some targeted investment in training and education, including partnerships with labor, with tribes and with local colleges to build a workforce pipeline that starts soon and continues through the decades ahead.”

But there’s uncertainty about the future of offshore wind energy.

The federal actions figure into recent doubt, including the withdrawal of a $427 million federal port development grant to the Humboldt Bay Harbor District.

The report says delays on port development could have “major impact” on local supply chain improvement.

But Logan said the pause in progress gives “a gift of time” to achieve the improvements detailed in the report.

A list of 22 recommendations includes creating offshore wind-focused training and education programs, securing “funding to support vital initiatives” and appointing a “dedicated offshore wind coordinator.”

Responding to the presentation, Supervisor Natalie Arroyo noted some recent positives, including a federal judge’s Dec. 8 ruling against President Trump’s executive order on offshore wind permitting.

It orders “temporary cessation and immediate review” of offshore wind leasing and permitting but the judge’s ruling describes that as an “arbitrary and capricious” action.

Arroyo said that although the ruling will likely be appealed, “there’s some pretty clear direction that an entire industry can’t just be banned outright without more detail provided,” which she described as “hopeful news.”

She also noted last fall’s passage of AB 825, a state bill that creates a “western regional energy market” enabling market expansion for forms of energy like wind and solar.

On the federal funding impacts, Board Chair Mike Wilson noted the state’s large-scale economy and said, “If California wants to do this, we have the juice.”

Some of the “strengths” listed in Xodus’ report include the planned port development, which “makes the region a strategic investment target,” the region’s “first movement advantage on the West Coast” and the workforce development potential of Cal Poly Humboldt and College of the Redwoods.

The report also covers “community engagement,” listing its strengths as having begun at “an early point in the process” with “highly engaged developers” and the presence of an “existing network” of community organizations.

Various types of “misinformation” are named as weaknesses, particularly regarding “marine mammals, human health and technical feasibility.”