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The development of a floating wind energy installation 21 miles off the Humboldt County coastline could wind up being the most significant industrial project in our region’s history. It’s a key component of the Biden administration’s Energy Earthshots initiative, which seeks to address the climate crisis through a variety of investments and innovations in clean energy production over the coming decade.

But what will it mean for us here in Humboldt County?

That’s the question addressed in the latest episode of “Reimagining Rural,” a podcast series produced by nonprofit public policy think tank the Brookings Institution.

Host Tony Pipa recently visited our shores, and over the course of the nearly hour-long episode he speaks with a cross-section of locals, including Humboldt County supervisors Natalie Arroyo and Rex Bohn, Economic Development Director Scott Adair, Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District General Manager Linnea Jackson, county Planning Commissioner/Cal Poly Humboldt INRSEP+ Coordinator Lonyx Landry and more. 

The episode reflects on our region’s long history of resource extraction and exploitation, and the panel of local sources discusses efforts to ensure that doesn’t happen this time around. Those efforts include the Redwood Region Climate and Community Resilience (CORE) Hub, a coalition of local stakeholders aiming to reach community benefits agreements with the wind energy developers who will soon be our neighbors.

You can listen to the episode via Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.