A 50 megawatt project in state waters is scheduled to be operational by 2028.
CADEMO, California’s first offshore wind project, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with California Community Power (CC Power) to advance the 50MW scheme.
The demonstration site will be off the coast of Vandenberg Space Force Base, near Lompoc, in California state waters.
It aims to begin commercial operations in 2028, which would put it in a better position to start up a few years before other proposed offshore wind projects in federally leased waters off the coast of California, according to CADEMO.
Four turbines are anticipated as part of the project, which is expected to generate 200GWh of renewable energy annually.
CADEMO has worked closely with labor unions, workforce development organizations, and nearby tribes.
CC Power hopes to gain support for suitable policies that strike a balance between local investment, jobs and community considerations, greater penetration of renewable energy, and affordable electricity by learning about the factors that drive major costs in offshore wind development through the MoU engagement.
In order to make sure the project “gets built right,” CC Power and CADEMO plan to work with local communities in conjunction with the former’s CCA members. They will accomplish this by hosting community stakeholder sessions and taking into account and incorporating the opinions of numerous local community members into the site’s development.
The goal of CC Power and CADEMO is to maximize the value of the scheme’s power output while minimizing the cost of offtake by applying for grants, incentives, and other forms of support.
With the energy benefits and costs going to the participating CC Power member CCAs, these efforts are part of a roadmap meant to move the parties toward the possibility of a PPA between them.
Alex Morris, general manager of CC Power, stated: “We are thrilled to start this journey with CADEMO.”With the signing of this MOU, CC Power is advancing its goals of helping California’s floating offshore wind industry grow sensibly and become a reliable source of additional electricity for our CCA members to use to meet their customers’ needs for capacity and clean, renewable energy.”With a potential commercial operation date of 2028, the CADEMO project is unique in that it provides a valuable model for the construction of offshore wind projects on the West Coast and has the potential to start delivering power and development lessons to the California power sector quite soon.CC Power is honored to have a significant impact on California’s efforts to develop offshore wind farms.”
“This MoU is an important step in the introduction of offshore wind in California, and we are very pleased to have reached this step with CC Power,” continued Mikael Jakobsson, director of CADEMO.California and the United States urgently need first-mover information to direct the offshore wind industry’s launch, as they depend more and more on renewable energy to meet their climate goals.About five years before any larger-scale offshore wind development, the CADEMO project will provide this information. “This will help offshore wind gain greater public acceptance and will resolve many practical challenges to help launch our sector and create new jobs in California,” the project’s statement reads.
