Existing law establishes the Ocean Protection Council in state government to, among other things, establish policies to coordinate the collection, evaluation, and sharing of scientific data related to coastal and ocean resources among agencies.

This bill would require the council, upon an appropriation by the Legislature, to establish and oversee, oversee the establishment of, in coordination with other unspecified state and federal agencies, a nonprofit West Coast Offshore Wind Science Entity for the purpose of ensuring that directing comprehensive baseline and ongoing monitoring of the California current ocean ecosystem as well as targeted research are research, and oversee that the research is available and used to inform state and federal decisions, as provided. The bill would require the entity to perform specified functions, including reviewing and incorporating existing research, monitoring, and data standardization. data standardization methods, and data portals. The bill would require require, by no later than July 1, 2024, the council to develop form a steering committee to provide governance and oversight on the processes and procedures of the entity, as specified.

Existing law establishes the Ocean Protection Council in state government to, among other things, establish policies to coordinate the collection, evaluation, and sharing of scientific data related to coastal and ocean resources among agencies.

This bill would require the council, upon an appropriation by the Legislature, to establish and oversee, in coordination with other unspecified state and federal agencies, a West Coast Offshore Wind Science Entity for the purpose of ensuring that comprehensive baseline and ongoing monitoring of the California ocean ecosystem as well as targeted research are available and used to inform state and federal decisions, as provided. The bill would require the entity to perform specified functions, including reviewing and incorporating existing research, monitoring, and data standardization. The bill would require the council to develop a steering committee to provide governance and oversight on the processes and procedures of the entity, as specified.

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, in coordination with relevant federal, state, and local agencies, to develop a strategic plan for offshore wind energy developments installed off the California coast in federal waters, and requires the commission to submit the strategic plan to the Natural Resources Agency and the Legislature on or before June 30, 2023. Existing law requires the commission, on or before June 1, 2022, to evaluate and quantify the maximum feasible capacity of offshore wind to achieve reliability, ratepayer, employment, and decarbonization benefits and to establish megawatt offshore wind planning goals for 2030 and 2045. Existing law requires the commission, in coordination with specified state entities, to work with stakeholders, other state, local, and federal agencies, and the offshore wind energy industry to identify suitable sea space for wind energy areas in federal waters sufficient to accommodate those offshore wind planning goals. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2027.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation to create the Offshore Wind Coastal Compensation Fund for purposes of mitigating the impacts of the deployment of offshore wind infrastructure in California on the tourism industry, marine and other coastal wildlife, the fishing industry, and other entities, funding costs associated with the future decommissioning of obsolete offshore wind infrastructure, and providing funding to marine life sanctuaries, federally recognized tribes, cities, and counties.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular Session

AB 80 (Addis) - Coastal resources: ocean research: West Coast Offshore Wind Science Entity

Bill Summary:

This bill would establish the West Coast Offshore Wind Science Entity (Entity) to assess the environmental impacts of offshore wind energy development.

Fiscal Impact:

• The Ocean Protection Council (OPC) estimates ongoing costs of about $380,000 annually (General Fund) for two positions to support the steering committee and establish the Entity. OPC notes that it is unclear of the mechanism for a state entity to establish a non-profit, which could have unknown but significant associated costs to establish the Entity and fund independent staff. Furthermore, OPC notes unknown and significant costs would be associated with the ongoing operations of the Entity, establishment and facilitation of the steering committee, and compensation.
• The California Coastal Commission estimates potential one-time costs of $510,690 spread over five years (General Fund) for one-half of a position to participate in the steering committee. The Coastal Commission notes that while bill does not specify which agencies would serve on the Entity’s steering committee, its inclusion would be advisable given its role permitting OWE development as well as its technical experts on staff and issue area expertise. The Coastal Commission states its participate would be expected to provide a long-term fiscal benefit by providing the necessary up-front coordination to identify research and informational needs to facilitate the permitting of OWE projects, though the amount of this benefit would necessarily depend on the number and frequency of projects.
• The Department of Fish and Wildlife and State Lands Commission anticipate that any costs would be minor and absorbable costs.
• Unknown but likely significant ongoing cost pressure, potentially in the millions of dollars annually, to fund ongoing Entity operations, including long-term planning, research, oversight, and monitoring.
• State costs could be offset by OWE lease revenues, and also might be reduced by the availability of other private and federal funding. For example, the Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative for Offshore Wind established on the East Coast is supported by separate streams of funding, including contributions from wind developers and federal research funds.

Background:

California boasts the largest ocean-based economy in the nation that is valued at $45 billion annually (2015 data). The ocean economy employs more than half a million people. California’s fisheries support 19,750 recreational fishing jobs, with the commercial fishing and seafood industry generating 155,258 jobs and $28.8 billion in sales in 2017. Coastal tourism and recreation industries in California are valued at approximately $27 billion annually. California's marine wildlife – including whales, dolphins, and the threatened southern sea otter – attract millions of visitors a year to our coastline. California’s coastline counties are home to 68% of the state, and millions of people visit California coastal state parks every year.

California has set ambitious renewable energy targets, aiming to transition to 100% clean electricity by 2045. Offshore wind, with its vast energy potential, provides a means to scale up renewable energy capacity and diversify the state's clean energy portfolio. It also complements solar power generation by providing a consistent and reliable electricity supply during hours of the day when solar energy production declines. This synergy allows for better grid stability and a more balanced energy mix. California has significant offshore wind potential, and harnessing this resource would allow the state to capitalize on its natural advantages and optimize its renewable energy capacity.

While California has no offshore wind energy projects in operation currently, the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated that California has the technical potential for 200 GW of offshore wind generation. The potential for offshore wind development is significant, but there are challenges that include transmission requirements, competing coastal uses, seaport capabilities, and compliance with the Jones Act.

The extent of impacts to marine life and ecosystems from offshore wind remain largely unknown, although a variety of potential risks have been identified such as adverse impacts to endangered species, entanglement of marine animals, collisions of birds and bats into turbines, habitat damage from anchors, changes to ocean noise and electromagnetic fields, and alterations of wind and upwelling patterns. The California Current regional ecosystem, which runs from the southern tip of California up through northern Washington, is highly productive and extraordinarily biodiverse, and serves as foraging habitat for many species of highly migratory fish, marine mammals, and seabirds that travel across the vast Pacific Ocean basin. This ecosystem supports an important ocean economy, including recreational and commercial fishing, tourism, and shipping.

Offshore wind is set for rapid deployment across the United States. President Biden in 2021 set “bold goals” of deploying 30 GW of offshore wind nationwide by 2030, and also instituted a goal of 15 GW of floating offshore wind by 2035. Leasing has occurred in federal waters on the East Coast of the United States and future leasing opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico were announced in March. California joined the 13-state Federal-State Offshore Wind Implementation Partnership to help spur deployment in February 2023.

In July 2021 in order to meet research needs in the US Atlantic, the Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative for Offshore Wind (RWSC) was established to “collaboratively and effectively conduct and coordinate relevant, credible, and efficient regional monitoring and research of wildlife and marine ecosystems that supports the advancement of environmentally responsible and cost-efficient offshore wind power development activities in U.S. Atlantic waters.” The RWSC was cooperatively established, funded, and led by federal agencies, Atlantic coast states, environmental non-governmental organizations, and offshore wind companies. Organizations involved include BOEM, NOAA, the US Department of Energy, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Marine Mammal Commission, US Atlantic Coast states from South Carolina to Maine, offshore wind lease holders and developers, and national, regional, and local environmental organizations. The RWSC’s goals include is to identify research and data needs, coordinate and align funding, and identify and develop data standards and sharing policies.

The Ocean Protection Council’s Strategic Plan to Protect California’s Coast and Ocean 2020-2025 includes a goal to develop, with partners, a statewide policy to establish criteria by 2024 that will ensure responsible evaluation and potential implementation of offshore wind projects, and to work towards development of a commercial scale offshore project by 2026. The OPC received funding ($2 million in 2021-22) to support research on impacts on offshore marine life, habitats, the fishing community, and cultural resources. At its April 24, 2023 meeting, the Ocean Protection Council allocated $450,000 to develop offshore wind environmental monitoring guidance.

The statutory deadline for the AB 525 Strategic Plan was June 30, 2023. The draft plan is likely to be released later this summer with an aim of CEC adoption in the fall.

Proposed Law:

This bill would establish the West Coast Offshore Wind Science Entity to assess the environmental impacts of offshore wind energy development. Specifically, this bill would:

1. Require the OPC, upon an appropriation by the Legislature and in coordination with other state and federal agencies to oversee the establishment of a nonprofit West Coast Offshore Wind Science Entity (Entity).
   1. The Entity’s purpose is to direct comprehensive baseline and ongoing monitoring of the California Current ocean ecosystem, as well as targeted research to inform state and federal decisions about offshore wind development in federal waters, as specified.
2. Require the Entity to collaboratively support and recommend science and research pathways to inform decisions about offshore wind in an environmentally responsible manner.
3. Require the OPC by July 1, 2024 to form a steering committee to provide governance and oversight on the Entity’s processes and procedures. The steering committee is the Entity’s final decision-making body.
4. Require the steering committee to be composed of at least two representatives from each of the following with equal representation from each:
   1. State agencies;
   2. Federal agencies;
   3. California tribes, as defined;
   4. Offshore wind industry; and
   5. Environmental protection or environmental justice nonprofit organizations.
5. Require the Entity and the steering committee to be informed by subcommittees of scientists, independent science organizations, local and traditional knowledge, fisheries organizations and other rights holders and affected parties.
6. Require the Entity to perform at least all of the following functions:
   1. Review and incorporate existing research, monitoring, data standardization methods, and data portals;
   2. Obtain appropriate data and establishing data standards to support priorities;
   3. Identify research needs or data gaps and recommend how to address the needs and gaps;
   4. Identify tools, methods and technologies that have the potential to support monitoring and research, as provided;
   5. Recommend data management practices, as provided; and
   6. Receive and allocate funds, as provided.
7. Require that certain Entity participants receive compensation and expense reimbursement pursuant to criteria developed by the steering committee.
8. Make relevant legislative findings and declarations including stating legislative intent that the OPC initiate the development of the Entity to guide comprehensive baseline and ongoing monitoring and research of the environmental impacts of offshore wind energy development, among others.

Related Legislation:

SB 286 (McGuire, 2023) would establish the California Offshore Wind Energy Fisheries Working Group to address offshore wind energy project impacts to certain fisheries and other interests, including providing for compensation to those affected, and require the California Coastal Commission to process a consolidated coastal development permit for new development associated with offshore wind energy projects and related transmission facilities.

AB 3 (Zbur, 2023) would require the CEC by December 31, 2026, to develop a second-phase plan and strategy for seaport readiness that builds upon the recommendations and alternatives in the AB 525 strategic plan, and would also require the CEC to conduct a study, by December 31, 2027, on the feasibility of achieving specified in-state assembly and manufacturing and federally specified domestic content thresholds

AB 525 (Chiu, Chapter 231, Statutes of 2021) requires the CEC, in coordination with several state agencies, to develop a strategic plan for offshore wind energy developments installed off the California coast in federal waters, among other provisions.

Staff Comments:

Compensation for Entity participants. The bill would require that certain Entity participants receive compensation, but does not specify the amounts, making them pursuant to criteria developed by the steering committee instead. Numerous state-created boards and similar initiatives offer reimbursement for travel expenses, payment for preparation time for meetings, per diem, and other expenses. These compensation amounts are often specified in statute. The author should contemplate whether it is suitable to establish caps on these payments or offer additional guidance to the steering committee to define compensation criteria, considering the open-ended nature of the Entity's composition.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER

Senator Dave Min, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Bill No: AB 80 Hearing Date: July 10, 2023

Subject: Coastal resources: ocean research: West Coast Offshore Wind Science Entity

BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW

According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the California Current regional ecosystem runs from the southern tip of California up through northern Washington. It is a “dynamic and diverse upwelling current system” that is “highly productive and extraordinarily biodiverse, and serves as foraging habitat for many species of highly migratory fish, marine mammals, and seabirds that travel across the vast Pacific Ocean basin. This ecosystem supports an important ocean economy, including recreational and commercial fishing, tourism, shipping, […] and offshore wind.” The California Current extends several hundred miles offshore into deep oceanic waters off the continental shelf, and key habitats for various species are found at all depths.

In September 2021, the Legislature passed AB 525 (Chiu, Chapter 231, Statutes of 2021) requiring the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (California Energy Commission or CEC), in coordination with several state agencies, to develop a strategic plan for offshore wind energy developments installed off the California coast in federal waters, among other provisions. Last August, the CEC adopted the first AB 525 report which provided targets for offshore wind energy deployment. The CEC subsequently announced ambitious targets for offshore wind energy generation off the coast of California. These include a goal of five gigawatts (GW) installed by 2030 and 25 GW by 2045. For context, one GW is estimated to be sufficient to provide electricity to 700,000 – 750,000 homes.

Offshore wind energy generation is projected to be an important component of the state’s efforts to decarbonize energy generation and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. The advantage of offshore wind over its land-based counterpart is that the offshore wind resource is far more consistent, reliable, and energetic, with little of the topographic and small-scale variability typically seen on land. Offshore wind is a clean energy source at night complementing solar energy by providing energy generation at the end of the day and into the evening as the sun sets.

The first AB 525 report states: “However, because the floating offshore wind market is in the early stages and the technology is rapidly advancing, additional study and analysis are needed to fully understand the degree, magnitude, and extent of potential impacts of offshore wind development on coastal resources, fisheries, Native American and Indigenous peoples, and national defense and identify effective strategies for addressing those potential impacts.”

California currently has no offshore wind energy projects in operation, but does have about six GW installed onshore. The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated that California has the technical potential for 200 GW of offshore wind generation.

Due to the water depth in areas with high ambient winds, much of the offshore wind energy projects serving California are likely to be composed of very large floating wind turbines anchored to the sea floor in federal waters (between 3 – 200 miles) offshore. These projects will include components in state waters, such as cables transporting the energy onshore, vessels transiting state waters to serve the projects, and docking and support facilities onshore.

In December 2022, the federal agency with leasing authority – the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) – held a wind energy auction for five leases off the coast of California. This was the first federal offshore wind energy area lease in the Pacific. The leases sold for $757.1 million and covered 373,268 acres located approximately 20 miles offshore of central (San Luis Obispo County) and northern (Humboldt County) California. These lease areas have the potential to generate up to 4.6 GW of offshore wind energy.

Several years earlier, in October of 2016, the BOEM-California Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force (Task Force) was created as a partnership of state, local, and federal agencies, including BOEM, CEC, the California Coastal Commission, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Ocean Protection Council, the State Lands Commission, other state entities, tribal governments, local agencies and governments, and elected representatives. There are dozens of members. The Task Force’s goals include promoting coordination and communication among stakeholders on potential offshore leases off the state’s coast for research or commercial development. One of the Task Force’s efforts include assessing the environmental impact of offshore wind on the marine environment.

The extent of impacts to marine life and ecosystems from offshore wind remain largely unknown, although a variety of potential risks have been identified. According to this bill’s co-sponsors, these risks include adverse impacts to endangered species, including humpback whales, orcas, and green sea turtles, that depend upon a healthy marine environment; entanglement in debris ensnared in floating wind mooring lines and mid-water cables by marine mammals, sea turtles and other marine life; collision with turbines and their blades by birds and bats; damage to slow-growing benthic habitat by platform and vessel anchors; changes to the marine and ocean noise; generation of electromagnetic fields which may affect those marine species that use existing fields for navigation; and alterations to wind and upwelling patterns.

Offshore wind is set for rapid deployment across the United States. President Biden in 2021 set “bold goals” of deploying 30 GW of offshore wind nationwide by 2030, and also instituted a goal of 15 GW of floating offshore wind by 2035. Leasing has occurred in federal waters on the East Coast of the United States and future leasing opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico were announced in March. California joined the 13-state Federal-State Offshore Wind Implementation Partnership to help spur deployment in February 2023.

In July 2021 in order to meet research needs in the US Atlantic, the Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative for Offshore Wind (RWSC) was established to “collaboratively and effectively conduct and coordinate relevant, credible, and efficient regional monitoring and research of wildlife and marine ecosystems that supports the advancement of environmentally responsible and cost-efficient offshore wind power development activities in U.S. Atlantic waters.” The RWSC was cooperatively established, funded, and led by federal agencies, Atlantic coast states, environmental non-governmental organizations, and offshore wind companies. Organizations involved include BOEM, NOAA, the US Department of Energy, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Marine Mammal Commission, US Atlantic Coast states from South Carolina to Maine, offshore wind lease holders and developers, and national, regional, and local environmental organizations. The RWSC’s goals include is to identify research and data needs, coordinate and align funding, and identify and develop data standards and sharing policies.

The Ocean Protection Council’s Strategic Plan to Protect California’s Coast and Ocean 2020-2025 includes a goal to develop, with partners, a statewide policy to establish criteria by 2024 that will ensure responsible evaluation and potential implementation of offshore wind projects, and to work towards development of a commercial scale offshore project by 2026. The OPC received funding ($2 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-22) to support research on impacts on offshore marine life, habitats, the fishing community, and cultural resources. At its April 24, 2023 meeting, the Ocean Protection Council allocated $450,000 to develop offshore wind environmental monitoring guidance.

Existing law:

1. Authorizes the United States Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with other federal agencies, with the granting of leases, easements, or rights-of-way on the outer Continental Shelf for offshore energy development. (Energy Policy Act of 2005, Title 42, United States Code, §388)
2. Establishes the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) in state government composed of the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, the Secretary for Environmental Protection, the Chair of the State Lands Commission and two members of the public appointed by the Governor.
   1. The OPC advances science, coordinate activities of state agencies that are related to the protection and conservation of coastal waters and ocean ecosystems to improve the effectiveness of state efforts to protect ocean resources within existing fiscal limitations. (Public Resources Code (PRC) §35615 (a)(1))
3. Establishes the Voluntary Offshore Wind and Coastal Resources Protection Program (Program) to be administered by the CEC for the purpose of supporting state activities that complement and are in furtherance of federal laws related to the development of offshore wind facilities, including federal laws providing for conditions on offshore wind lease. Requires the Program to award moneys to public and private entities, including, but not limited to, state agencies, tribal entities, local governmental agencies, research institutions, and nonprofit entities, through various mechanisms, including, but not limited to, grants. (PRC §25992.10 (a)(1))
4. Establishes the Voluntary Offshore Wind and Coastal Resources Protection Fund and continuously appropriates funding, without regard to fiscal year, to the CEC for purposes of implementing the Program. (PRC §25992.20 (a))

PROPOSED LAW

This bill would establish the West Coast Offshore Wind Science Entity to assess the environmental impacts of offshore wind energy development. Specifically, this bill would:

1. Require the OPC, upon an appropriation by the Legislature and in coordination with other state and federal agencies to oversee the establishment of a nonprofit West Coast Offshore Wind Science Entity (Entity).
   1. The Entity’s purpose is to direct comprehensive baseline and ongoing monitoring of the California Current ocean ecosystem, as well as targeted research to inform state and federal decisions about offshore wind development in federal waters, as specified.
2. Require the Entity to collaboratively support and recommend science and research pathways to inform decisions about offshore wind in an environmentally responsible manner.
3. Require the OPC by July 1, 2024 to form a steering committee to provide governance and oversight on the Entity’s processes and procedures. The steering committee is the Entity’s final decision-making body.
4. Require the steering committee to be composed of at least two representatives from each of the following with equal representation from each:
   1. State agencies;
   2. Federal agencies;
   3. California tribes, as defined;
   4. Offshore wind industry; and
   5. Environmental protection or environmental justice nonprofit organizations.
5. Require the Entity and the steering committee to be informed by subcommittees of scientists, independent science organizations, local and traditional knowledge, fisheries organizations and other rights holders and affected parties.
6. Require the Entity to perform at least all of the following functions:
   1. Review and incorporate existing research, monitoring, data standardization methods, and data portals;
   2. Obtain appropriate data and establishing data standards to support priorities;
   3. Identify research needs or data gaps and recommend how to address the needs and gaps;
   4. Identify tools, methods and technologies that have the potential to support monitoring and research, as provided;
   5. Recommend data management practices, as provided; and
   6. Receive and allocate funds, as provided.
7. Require that certain Entity participants receive compensation and expense reimbursement pursuant to criteria developed by the steering committee.
8. Make relevant legislative findings and declarations including stating legislative intent that the OPC initiate the development of the Entity to guide comprehensive baseline and ongoing monitoring and research of the environmental impacts of offshore wind energy development, among others.

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT

According to the author, “Responsible development of offshore wind energy includes a robust scientific research and monitoring plan to understand how habitat and marine life will interact with offshore wind energy infrastructure and development activities.”

“The appropriate state entity to convene the best managers, stakeholders, and experts to inform and lead this work is the Ocean Protection Council (OPC), which was created to coordinate with state agencies on policies that affect coastal waters and to convene a science advisory team to provide research and evaluation to decision makers in this subject area.”

“A West Coast Offshore Wind Wildlife Science Entity initiated by OPC would ensure that state and federal agencies, tribal groups, the offshore wind industry and environmental non-profits develop a coordinated approach to research, monitoring, and data-sharing to inform state and federal decisions about offshore wind development and the management of any impacted marine and coastal resources.”

“While California is in the early stages of development of offshore wind energy in our federal waters, there is clear momentum for it to help us meet our climate and clean energy goals. This is the right time to lay a robust foundation of responsible, science-based planning for offshore wind energy development that will assist decision makers as we forge ahead, and at the same time fulfill our collective obligation to be good stewards of the ocean for this generation and the generations to come.”

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION

None received

COMMENTS

Collaborative model is well-established. The proposed Entity is modeled on the US East Coast’s RWSC, and appears, in many ways, to be a continuation of long-standing efforts to coordinate and collaborate across all levels of government, industry, academia, non-governmental organizations, tribes, and other stakeholders to address the research needed to understand and minimize marine environmental impacts of rapid and large-scale offshore wind turbine deployment. There is merit in continuing this effort. While some research will have broad applicability, each project site will have its own unique impacts and challenges that will require monitoring and adaptive management for the lifetime of the project.

Appropriate Compensation? Many state-created boards and similar efforts provide for the reimbursement of travel expenses, pay for a certain number of hours of preparation time for meetings, per diem and other expenses. In many instances these amounts are set in statute.

The author may wish to consider whether it is appropriate to set caps on elements of these payments or to provide additional guidance to the steering committee on the criteria it will use to develop compensation given the open-ended make-up of the Entity.

US Atlantic coast draft science plan. The RWSC recently released a draft science plan. The research themes include:

1. Mitigating negative impacts that are likely to occur or are severe in magnitude;
2. Detecting and quantifying changes to wildlife and habitats;
3. Understanding the environmental context around changes to wildlife and habitats;
4. Determining causality for observed changes to wildlife and habitats; and
5. Enhancing data sharing and access.

The importance of protecting the state’s ocean. California boasts the largest ocean-based economy in the nation that is valued at $45 billion annually (2015 data). The ocean economy employs more than half a million people. California’s fisheries support 19,750 recreational fishing jobs, with the commercial fishing and seafood industry generating 155,258 jobs and $28.8 billion in sales in 2017. Coastal tourism and recreation industries in California are valued at approximately $27 billion annually. California's marine wildlife – including whales, dolphins, and the threatened southern sea otter – attract millions of visitors a year to our coastline. California’s coastline counties are home to 68% of the state, and millions of people visit California coastal state parks every year.

California’s world-leading clean energy goals are driving a lot of interest in exploring use of coastal resources to achieve those goals, including mineral mining for materials like lithium and assessing offshore wind capacity and feasibility. With such ambitious clean energy mandates and 1,100 miles of coast line with abundant resources, it is important to have a robust scientific understanding of the impacts of achieving those goals on the ocean resource in order to preserve the cultural, recreational, economic, and environmental values of our coast and ocean.

AB 525 Strategic Plan due imminently. The statutory deadline for the AB 525 Strategic Plan was June 30, 2023. The draft plan is likely to be released later this summer with an aim of CEC adoption in the fall.

Recent related legislation

SB 286 (McGuire, 2023) would establish the California Offshore Wind Energy Fisheries Working Group to address offshore wind energy project impacts to certain fisheries and other interests, including providing for compensation to those affected, and require the California Coastal Commission to process a consolidated coastal development permit for new development associated with offshore wind energy projects and related transmission facilities. (This bill is pending before the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee.)

AB 3 (Zbur, 2023) would require the CEC by December 31, 2026, to develop a second-phase plan and strategy for seaport readiness that builds upon the recommendations and alternatives in the AB 525 strategic plan, and would also require the CEC to conduct a study, by December 31, 2027, on the feasibility of achieving specified in-state assembly and manufacturing and federally specified domestic content thresholds. (This bill is pending before this Committee.)

AB 525 (Chiu, Chapter 231, Statutes of 2021) requires the CEC, in coordination with several state agencies, to develop a strategic plan for offshore wind energy developments installed off the California coast in federal waters, among other provisions.

SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS: none

SUPPORT

Monterey Bay Aquarium (co-sponsor)

Natural Resources Defense Council (co-sponsor)

The Honorable Eleni Kounalakis, Lieutenant Governor, State of California (co-sponsor)

350 Bay Area Action

350 Humboldt

American Bird Conservancy

American Clean Power Association

Audubon

Azul

Brightline Defense Project

California Association of Professional Scientists

California Coastal Commission

California Coastal Protection Network

California Coastkeeper Alliance

California Environmental Voters

California Institute for Biodiversity

California Marine Sanctuary Foundation

California State Lands Commission

Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies (CEERT)

Defenders of Wildlife

Environment California

Environmental Defense Center

Environmental Protection Information Center

Humboldt Baykeeper

National Wildlife Federation

Ocean Conservation Research

Offshore Wind California

Santa Cruz Climate Action Network

Sierra Club California

Surfrider Foundation

The Climate Center

The Marine Mammal Center

USC Schwarzenegger Institute

OPPOSITION

None Received

-- END --

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 80

Author:(Addis)

As Amended Ver:April 17, 2023

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Requires the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) to establish and oversee, in coordination with other state agencies, a West Coast Offshore Wind Science Entity (Entity).

Major Provisions

1. Requires the OPC, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to establish and oversee, in coordination with other state agencies, an Entity for the purpose of ensuring that comprehensive baseline monitoring of the California ocean ecosystem as well as targeted research are available and used to inform state and federal decisions about offshore wind development in federal waters and the management of any impacted marine resources.
2. Requires the Entity to collaboratively support and recommend science and research pathways to ensure that decisions about offshore wind development and wildlife are made in an environmentally responsible manner that safeguards coastal and marine resources.
3. Requires the Entity to be supported by subcommittees of scientists and traditional knowledge holders and led by a steering committee composed of state and federal agencies, tribal groups, the offshore wind industry, and environmental nonprofit organizations.

COMMENTS

The 100 Percent Clean Energy Act of 2018 (SB 100, De León, Chapter 321, Statutes of 2018) increased California's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) goal to 60% by 2030 and requires RPS-eligible resources and zero-carbon resources to supply 100% of California's electricity retail sales and electricity procured to serve state agencies by 2045. 

Based on a joint analysis by the CEC, the Public Utilities Commission, and the California Air Resources Board, an estimated six gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy and storage resources need to come online annually to meet the state's 2045 carbon neutrality goal. To meet these bold renewable energy targets, California's offshore waters are quickly emerging as a prime location for new floating offshore wind projects. The advantage of offshore wind over its land-based counterpart is that the offshore wind resource is far more consistent, reliable, and energetic, with little of the topographic and small-scale variability typically seen on land.

CEC offshore wind planning goals, based on assessments on wind speed, ocean depth, bottom slope, distance to grid interconnection, and distance to existing port infrastructure that are technically suitable for current floating technologies, would achieve 2,000-5,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind by 2030 and 25,000 MW by 2045.

This bill proposes to establish the Entity to coordinate critical scientific information on the impacts of offshore wind technologies needed to inform those planning goals.

According to the Author

[An Entity] initiated by OPC would ensure that state and federal agencies, tribal groups, the offshore wind industry and environmental non-profits develop a coordinated approach to research, monitoring, and data-sharing to inform state and federal decisions about offshore wind development and the management of any impacted marine and coastal resources. While California is in the early stages of development of offshore wind energy in our federal waters, there is clear momentum for it to help us meet our climate and clean energy goals. This is the right time to lay a robust foundation of responsible, science-based planning for offshore wind energy development that will assist decision makers as we forge ahead, and at the same time fulfill our collective obligation to be good stewards of the ocean for this generation and the generations to come.

Arguments in Support

A group of environmental organizations, including California Coastkeeper Alliance and Audubon California, write, "The impacts of offshore wind development, particularly the novel floating systems that will be deployed off the California coast, on marine wildlife and ecosystems are still unknown … With participation from issue experts and traditional knowledge holders, the Science Entity will enhance our collective understanding of how, where, and to what extent offshore wind development impacts the [Entity]. AB 80 creates a timely opportunity to guide and coordinate regional research, set shared standards, improve efficiency and transparency, support long-term and cumulative analysis and ensure that information is available for use by state and federal agencies for management decisions for existing and future wind farms."

Arguments in Opposition

None on file

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, enactment of this bill would result in unknown costs, likely in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars, for the OPC to implement this bill (General Fund) and potentially significant cost pressure to the OPC. The author is requesting $6 million for OPC in the FY 2023-24 budget to be expended over six years to help support implementation of this bill.

VOTES

ASM NATURAL RESOURCES: 11-0-0

YES: Luz Rivas, Flora, Addis, Friedman, Hoover, Mathis, Muratsuchi, Pellerin, Ward, Wood, Zbur

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 15-0-1

YES: Holden, Megan Dahle, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Dixon, Mike Fong, Hart, Lowenthal, Mathis, Papan, Pellerin, Sanchez, Weber, Ortega

ABS, ABST OR NV: Robert Rivas

UPDATED

VERSION: April 17, 2023

CONSULTANT: Paige Brokaw / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN: 0000524

Date of Hearing: April 26, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Chris Holden, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 80

Author:(Addis) – As Amended Ver:April 17, 2023

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) to establish and oversee, in coordination with other state agencies, a West Coast Offshore Wind Science Entity (Entity).

Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires OPC, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to establish and oversee, in coordination with other state and federal agencies, an Entity to collaboratively support and recommend science and research pathways to ensure that state and federal decisions about offshore wind development and wildlife are made in an environmentally responsible manner that safeguards coastal and marine resources.
2. Requires OPC to assemble representatives from relevant groups to develop a steering committee composed of specified representatives to provide governance and oversight on the processes and procedures of the Entity and to be the final decisionmaking body on process and procedural governance of the Entity.
3. Requires the steering committee and the Entity to be supported by subcommittees of scientists, traditional knowledge holders, and other stakeholders.
4. Requires the Entity to perform all of, but not be limited to, the following functions:
   1. Reviewing and incorporating existing research, monitoring, and data standardization.
   2. Ensuring appropriate data and standards are in place to support science priorities.
   3. Identifying research needs or data gaps and recommending how to coordinate and prioritize research to address these gaps.
   4. Identifying tools, methods, and technologies that may be used to support needed monitoring and research and recommending applications.
   5. Hosting a data portal and housing publicly available information to support transparency in decision-making.
   6. Allocating funds to address science priorities.
5. Provides that members of the steering committee, the Entity, and any subcommittee shall serve without compensation, except any member who is participating on behalf of a Native American tribe, who shall receive compensation, and requires members of the Entity to receive reimbursement for travel, per diem, and other expenses.

FISCAL EFFECT:

1) Costs of an unknown amount, likely in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars, for OPC to implement this bill (General Fund). OPC notes that while the initial costs associated with establishing the Entity are absorbable, additional funds might be required depending on how long the Entity needs to be active and what level of state funding is needed over the long-term. OPC would require additional resources to compensate members of the Entity or steering committee on behalf of Native American tribes and to provide all other members with reimbursement for travel, per diem, and other expenses.

OPC notes it has one limited-term position that is supporting work related to offshore wind. Given the pace and scale of offshore wind development in the state and the associated workload, OPC is requesting that this limited-term position be converted to a permanent position in the fiscal year (FY) 2023-24 budget process. OPC notes that funding from offshore wind lease sales and lessee operations could help support funding for the Entity in the long term, but this is speculative.

2) Cost pressure of a significant amount to OPC. The author is requesting $6 million for OPC in the FY 2023-24 budget to be expended over six years to help support implementation of this bill.

COMMENTS:

1) Purpose. According to the author:

[An Entity] initiated by OPC would ensure that state and federal agencies, tribal groups, the offshore wind industry and environmental non-profits develop a coordinated approach to research, monitoring, and data-sharing to inform state and federal decisions about offshore wind development and the management of any impacted marine and coastal resources.

While California is in the early stages of development of offshore wind energy in our federal waters, there is clear momentum for it to help us meet our climate and clean energy goals. This is the right time to lay a robust foundation of responsible, science-based planning for offshore wind energy development that will assist decision makers as we forge ahead, and at the same time fulfill our collective obligation to be good stewards of the ocean for this generation and the generations to come.

2) Background. California has set ambitious offshore wind capacity planning goals of two to five gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and 25 GW by 2045. In December, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) hosted the first-ever auction of offshore wind leases on the Outer Continental Shelf off the central and northern coasts of California, as well as the first U.S. sale in support of commercial offshore wind energy projects. Earlier this year, California signed onto the 13-state Federal-State Offshore Wind Implementation Partnership.

In September 2021, the Legislature passed AB 525 (Chiu), Chapter 231, Statutes of 2021, which required, among other things, the CEC, in coordination with several state agencies, to develop a strategic plan for offshore wind energy developments installed off the California coast in federal waters. In one of its interim reports, the CEC contends:

Because the floating offshore wind market is in the early stages and the technology is rapidly advancing, additional study and analysis are needed to fully understand the degree, magnitude, and extent of potential impacts of offshore wind development on coastal resources, fisheries, Native American and Indigenous peoples, and national defense and identify effective strategies for addressing those potential impacts.

This bill establishes the Entity to coordinate this additional scientific information on the impacts of offshore wind technologies. The Entity is modeled on the Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative, which is a collection of interested parties working to develop and guide ecosystem science for offshore wind on the east coast in the Atlantic Ocean.

Supporters contend that existing efforts, such as OPC’s Science Advisory Team, the AB 525 strategic plan and permitting roadmap, the Coastal Commission’s consistency determination process as part of lease sales, and the California Offshore Wind Energy Gateway, while important, are not tasked with tracking the marine ecosystem effects of offshore wind development over the decades-long lifetime of offshore wind projects. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council and Monterey Bay Aquarium, the co-sponsors of the bill:

Scientists have identified a variety of potential risks created by offshore wind development. Marine mammals, sea turtles, and other marine life could become entangled in marine debris ensnared in floating wind mooring lines and mid-water cables, birds and bats may collide with turbines, and platform and vessel anchors may damage slow-growing benthic habitat. Development of floating wind farms may also have other ecosystem impacts, such as changes to the marine soundscape, generation of electromagnetic fields, and alterations to wind and upwelling patterns. Because Californians, including but not limited to fishing and tourism communities, are reliant on a healthy ocean ecosystem in myriad ways, understanding the potential impacts of a new ocean use is important for more than marine life. It is imperative that we develop the Science Entity now to advance the science to fill these knowledge gaps and ensure the most effective and environmentally-responsible management of offshore wind into the future.

3) Related Legislation. AB 3 (Zbur) requires the CEC, in consultation with other entities, to undertake several different reports to address various issues related to the deployment of offshore wind energy facilities. AB 3 is scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

AB 344 (Wood) authorizes electrical corporations, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators to jointly enter into agreements to procure electricity generated from offshore wind facilities. AB 344 is pending in this committee.

SB 286 (McGuire), among other things, establishes the California Offshore Wind Energy Fisheries Working Group to address offshore wind energy project impacts to certain fisheries, including providing for compensation to those affected. SB 286 is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Energy, Utilities, and Communications Committee.

SB 704 (Min), among other things, provides that the Coastal Commission could seek expert scientific advice related to offshore wind. SB 704 is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee.

Analysis Prepared by: Nikita Koraddi / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 10, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES

Luz Rivas, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 80 (

Author:Addis) – As Amended Ver:March 23, 2022

SUBJECT: Offshore Wind Coastal Protection Act.

SUMMARY: Requires the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) to establish and oversee, in coordination with other state agencies, a West Coast Offshore Wind Science Entity (Entity).

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the OPC to coordinate activities of state agencies that are related to the protection and conservation of coastal waters and ocean ecosystems to improve the effectiveness of state efforts to protect ocean resources within existing fiscal limitations. (Public Resources Code (PRC) 35615 (a)(1))
2. Provides the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with authority to establish a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) requiring all retail sellers, defined as including electrical corporations, community choice aggregators, and electric service providers, to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, so that the total kilowatt hours of those products sold to their retail end-use customers achieves 44% of retail sales by December 31, 2024, 52% by December 31, 2027, and 60% by December 31, 2030. (Public Utilities Code 399.11)
3. Establishes the Voluntary Offshore Wind and Coastal Resources Protection Program (Program) to be administered by the California Energy Commission (CEC) for the purpose of supporting state activities that complement and are in furtherance of federal laws related to the development of offshore wind facilities, including federal laws providing for offshore wind lease conditions of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Requires the Program to award moneys to public and private entities, including, but not limited to, state agencies, tribal entities, local governmental agencies, research institutions, and nonprofit entities, through various mechanisms, including, but not limited to, grants. (PRC 25992.10 (a)(1))
4. Establishes the Voluntary Offshore Wind and Coastal Resources Protection Fund and continuously appropriates the funding without regard to fiscal year to the CEC for purposes of implementing the Program. (PRC 25992.20 (a))

THIS BILL:

1. Requires the OPC, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to establish and oversee, in coordination with other state agencies, an Entity for the purpose of ensuring that comprehensive baseline monitoring of the California ocean ecosystem as well as targeted research are available and used to inform state and federal decisions about offshore wind development in federal waters and the management of any impacted marine resources.
2. Requires the Entity to collaboratively support and recommend science and research pathways to ensure that decisions about offshore wind development and wildlife are made in an environmentally responsible manner that safeguards coastal and marine resources.
3. Requires the Entity to be supported by subcommittees of scientists and traditional knowledge holders and led by a steering committee composed of state and federal agencies, tribal groups, the offshore wind industry, and environmental nonprofit organizations.
4. Requires the Entity to perform all of, but not be limited to, the following functions:
   1. Reviewing and incorporating existing research, monitoring, and data standardization;
   2. Ensuring appropriate data and standards are in place to support science priorities;
   3. Identifying research needs or data gaps and recommending how to coordinate and prioritize research to address these gaps;
   4. Identifying tools, methods, and technologies that may be used to support needed monitoring and research and recommending applications;
   5. Hosting a data portal and housing publicly available information to support transparency in decision-making; and,
   6. Allocating funds to address science priorities.

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS:

1. Author’s statement:

Responsible development of offshore wind energy includes a robust scientific research and monitoring plan to understand how habitat and marine life will interact with offshore wind energy infrastructure and development activities.

The appropriate state entity to convene the best managers, stakeholders, and experts to inform and lead this work is [OPC], which was created to coordinate with state agencies on policies that affect coastal waters and to convene a science advisory team to provide research and evaluation to decision makers in this subject area.

[An Entity] initiated by OPC would ensure that state and federal agencies, tribal groups, the offshore wind industry and environmental non-profits develop a coordinated approach to research, monitoring, and data-sharing to inform state and federal decisions about offshore wind development and the management of any impacted marine and coastal resources.

While California is in the early stages of development of offshore wind energy in our federal waters, there is clear momentum for it to help us meet our climate and clean energy goals. This is the right time to lay a robust foundation of responsible, science-based planning for offshore wind energy development that will assist decision makers as we forge ahead, and at the same time fulfill our collective obligation to be good stewards of the ocean for this generation and the generations to come.

1. Clean energy goals. The 100 Percent Clean Energy Act of 2018 (SB 100, De León, Chapter 321, Statutes of 2018) increased California’s RPS goal to 60% by 2030 and requires RPS-eligible resources and zero-carbon resources to supply 100% of California’s electricity retail sales and electricity procured to serve state agencies by 2045. 

Based on a joint analysis by the CEC, the PUC, and the California Air Resources Board (ARB), an estimated six gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy and storage resources need to come online annually to meet the state’s 2045 carbon neutrality goal. To meet these bold renewable energy targets, California’s offshore waters are quickly emerging as a prime location for new floating offshore wind projects.

1. California’s ocean is a special place to protect. California boasts the largest ocean-based economy in the United States. Valued at $45 billion annually, the ocean employs more than half a million people and supports a vast diversity of marine life, as well as fishing communities that depend on fish, shellfish, and seaweeds for their livelihoods. California’s fisheries support 19,750 recreational fishing jobs, with the commercial fishing and seafood industry generating 155,258 jobs and $28.8 billion in sales in 2017. Coastal tourism and recreation industries in California are valued at approximately $27 billion annually. California's marine wildlife – including whales, dolphins, and the threatened southern sea otter – attract millions of visitors a year to our coastline. California’s coastline counties are home to 68% of the state, and millions of people visit California coastal state parks every year.

California’s world-leading clean energy goals are driving a lot of interest in exploring use of coastal resources to achieve those goals, including mineral mining for materials like lithium and assessing offshore wind capacity and feasibility. With such ambitious clean energy mandates and 1,100 miles of coast line with abundant resources, it is important to have a robust scientific understanding of the impacts of achieving those goals through use of the ocean in order to preserve the cultural, recreational, economic, and environmental values of our coast and ocean.

1. Offshore wind. The advantage of offshore wind over its land-based counterpart is that the offshore wind resource is far more consistent, reliable, and energetic, with little of the topographic and small-scale variability typically seen on land. Offshore wind is a clean energy source at night complementing solar energy by providing energy generation at the end of the day and into the evening as the sun sets. 

Off the coast of California, a steep continental shelf and increased wind speeds combine to make floating turbines the primary technically feasible option. A June 15, 2021, OPC staff memo, Existing Offshore Wind Technology Will Inform Design Considerations, explains that California’s offshore deep waters cannot support fixed-bottom structures, which are limited to depths shallower than about 165 feet, so floating wind turbines are currently being considered. This technology relies on attaching a wind turbine to a floating structure that is tethered to the seabed. Floating offshore wind technologies use wind turbines that essentially operate in the same way as onshore wind technologies.

The BOEM is responsible for overseeing renewable energy development in federal waters of the outer continental shelf. Floating offshore wind energy projects are complex and will require close coordination between BOEM, the state of California, and other federal and local agencies and tribal governments. To help facilitate this coordination, the Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force (Task Force) was established in 2016. The Task Force works to identify opportunities for renewable energy leasing and development off the coast of California. Through coordination with the Task Force, BOEM is moving forward with further environmental review for leasing two areas, one off the north coast and one off the central coast, for additional evaluation of floating offshore wind development. These areas, referred to as the Humboldt Wind Energy Area and the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area, have the combined potential to generate up to 4.6 GW of renewable energy.

In September 2021, the Legislature passed AB 525 (Chiu, Chapter 231, Statutes of 2021) requiring the CEC, in coordination with several state agencies, to develop a strategic plan for offshore wind energy developments installed off the California coast in federal waters. AB 525 requires the CEC to evaluate and quantify the maximum feasible offshore wind capacity to achieve reliability, ratepayer, employment, and decarbonization benefits and to establish offshore wind energy planning goals for 2030 and 2045, by no later than June 1, 2022.

Last August, the CEC adopted the first AB 525 report, which included an evaluation of studies that have assessed nearly 21.8 GW of offshore wind technical potential in federal waters off the California coast. The assessments are based on wind speed, ocean depth, bottom slope, distance to grid interconnection, and distance to existing port infrastructure that are technically suitable for current floating technologies. The 21.8 GW number is a reference point for technically feasible capacity. In the report, the CEC established planning goals of 2,000-5,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind by 2030 and 25,000 MW by 2045 – the latter being noted as being aspirational – and which would be enough electricity to power 3.75 million homes initially and 25 million homes by 2050.

These AB 525 reports will provide important information for the state’s decision-makers, but a lot of unknowns will remain where rigorous science can fill in the gaps with independent research. The report states:

However, because the floating offshore wind market is in the early stages and the technology is rapidly advancing, additional study and analysis are needed to fully understand the degree, magnitude, and extent of potential impacts of offshore wind development on coastal resources, fisheries, Native American and Indigenous peoples, and national defense and identify effective strategies for addressing those potential impacts.

AB 80 proposes to establish the Entity to coordinate that additional scientific information on the impacts of offshore wind technologies.

1. This bill. Myriad factors make siting offshore wind in state waters complicated, including environmental, cultural, socioeconomic, regulatory, and economic considerations. Grid connectivity and lack of understanding of potential environmental impacts are current barriers to offshore wind that require further investigation and mitigation. California is prioritizing actions and approaches to balance the advancement of a floating offshore wind industry and preservation of the unique and diverse ecosystems off the coast.

OPC’s Strategic Plan to Protect California’s Coast and Ocean 2020-2025 includes a goal to develop, with partners, a statewide policy to establish criteria by 2024 that will ensure responsible evaluation and potential implementation of offshore wind projects, and to work towards development of a commercial scale offshore project by 2026. The OPC received funding ($2 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-22) to support research on impacts on offshore marine life, habitats, the fishing community, and cultural resources.

AB 80 would further require OPC to establish and oversee the Entity to ensure that comprehensive baseline monitoring of the California ocean ecosystem as well as targeted research are available and used to inform state and federal decisions about offshore wind development in federal waters and the management of any impacted marine resources.

The Entity itself would be modeled after the Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative (RWSC), which is a collection of interested parties working to develop and guide ecosystem science for offshore wind on the east coast in the Atlantic Ocean. Like the RWSC, the author and sponsors intend for the work of the Entity in this bill to be supported by a subcommittee of scientists and a steering committee of state and federal regulators, offshore wind industry, environmental nonprofit organizations, and Native American Tribes in a manner in which Tribes would like to participate.

The state and federal agencies that would likely participate on the steering committee would be the BOEM, the National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the California Coastal Commission, the California State Lands Commission, the CEC, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The bill does not detail the makeup of the Entity or the steering committee.

1. Committee amendments. The Committee may wish to consider amending the bill as follows to outline the participants of the steering committee and whether they shall receive compensation for participation.

(c) (1) The council shall assemble representatives from relevant groups to develop a steering committee to provide governance and oversight on the processes and procedures of the West Coast Offshore Wind Science Entity and to be the final decision-making body on process and procedural governance of the Entity.

(2) The steering committee shall be composed of at least two representatives from each of the following: state agencies, federal agencies, California tribes including federally recognized tribes or California Native American tribes identified on the contact list maintained by the California Native American Heritage Commission, the offshore wind industry, and environmental nonprofit organizations.

(3) The steering committee and the Entity shall be supported by subcommittees of scientists, traditional knowledge holders, and other stakeholders. The entity shall be supported by subcommittees of scientists and traditional knowledge holders and led by a steering committee composed of state and federal agencies, tribal groups, the offshore wind industry, and environmental nonprofit organizations.

…

(e) (1) Members of the steering committee, the West Coast Offshore Wind Science Entity, and any subcommittee shall serve without compensation, except members who are participating on behalf of a Native American tribe, who shall receive compensation.

(2) Members of the West Coast Offshore Wind Science Entity shall receive reimbursement for travel, per diem, or other expenses.

1. State investments in offshore wind. Last year’s budget (AB 209, Committee on Budget, Chapter 251, Statutes of 2022) established the Voluntary Offshore Wind and Coastal Resources Protection Program to be administered by the CEC for the purpose of supporting state activities that complement and are in furtherance of federal laws related to the development of offshore wind facilities, including federal laws providing for offshore wind lease conditions of the BOEM. It included a fund for voluntarily deposited investments.

This bill would require OPC to establish the Entity only upon appropriation by the Legislature to provide the funding to do so. On March 17, Assemblymember Addis and Senator Laird sent a letter to the Legislative Budget Committees requesting $6 million budget augmentation to be expended over six years for the OPC to “create a West Coast Offshore Wind Wildlife Science Entity to advise, coordinate, and oversee important science and monitoring necessary to inform the environmentally responsible development of offshore wind energy off the coast of California.” If that request is enacted in the budget, it would support the implementation of this bill.

1. Related legislation.

AB 3 (Zbur) would require the CEC to prepare a report that identifies potential alternatives, analyzes, and makes recommendations regarding procurement mechanisms and procurement strategies for offshore wind energy projects to be financed, entitled, constructed, and operated within the timeframes necessary for meeting the state’s carbon neutrality goals. This bill is scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee on April 24.

SB 286 (McGuire) would establish the California Offshore Wind Energy Fisheries Working Group composed of state agencies and industry stakeholders to develop a statewide strategy for ensuring that offshore wind energy projects avoid and minimize impacts to ocean fisheries to the maximum extent possible, fully mitigate unavoidable impacts, and fairly compensate persons engaged in commercial and recreational fishing for economic impacts to ocean fisheries resulting from offshore wind energy projects. This bill is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee on April 11.

AB 525 (Chiu, Chapter 231, Statutes of 2021) requires the CEC to establish 2030 and 2045 planning goals, as specified, for electricity generated by offshore wind. Additionally requires the CEC, in coordination with specified agencies, to develop a five-part strategic plan for offshore wind development and to submit the plan to the Natural Resources Agency the Legislature by June 30, 2023.

SB 413 (McGuire, 2021) would have required the CEC, in consultation with the Offshore Wind Project Certification, Fisheries, Community, and Indigenous Peoples Advisory Committee, which the bill would create, to establish a process for the certification of offshore wind generation facilities that is analogous to the existing requirements for certification of thermal powerplants. This bill was referred to, but never heard in, the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

350 Bay Area Action

American Bird Conservancy

Audubon

Azul

California Association of Professional Scientists

California Coastal Protection Network

California Coastkeeper Alliance

California Environmental Voters

California Institute for Biodiversity

California Marine Sanctuary Foundation

Defenders of Wildlife

Environmental Defense Center

Environmental Protection Information Center

Humboldt Baykeeper

Monterey Bay Aquarium

National Wildlife Federation, National Advocacy Center

Natural Resources Defense Council

Ocean Conservation Research

Santa Cruz Climate Action Network

Surfrider Foundation

The Climate Center

The Marine Mammal Center

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Paige Brokaw / NAT. RES. /