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Despite President Donald Trump’s repeated attempts to thwart California’s burgeoning offshore wind industry, local leaders and renewable energy advocates remain steadfast in pushing for a floating wind project that benefits North Coast residents.

While the U.S. Department of Transportation’s recent decision to cancel nearly half a billion dollars in federal funding dealt a major setback to the heavy lift marine terminal planned for Humboldt Bay, some renewable energy advocates see the extended timeline as an opportunity to work with coastal communities to build a stronger, more inclusive offshore wind project.

“The silver lining that I see: Maybe what the President is doing is giving us the gift of time,” Dan Jacobson, senior advisor with nonprofit political organization Environment California, told the Outpost. “A lot of these clean energy projects — geothermal, battery storage, offshore wind — take a long time to develop … and if you don’t do them right, then they’ll never get off the ground.”

Jacobson spends most of his time lobbying for environmental policy at the state capitol, but every so often, he heads up to Humboldt to talk offshore wind with a coalition of elected and tribal officials, environmentalists, workforce organizers and other local stakeholders. This week, he’s meeting with local stakeholders to discuss next steps for offshore wind planning.

“I can appreciate the sort of static that we’re getting from the federal government, but let’s come back and … build the coalitions that need to get built,” Jacobson said. “The demand for energy is hockey-sticking up, and the people who seem the least interested in clean energy issues — like these data centers — they’re going, ‘We don’t care where we get the energy, we just want it.’ And even at the federal level, you see a lot of bipartisan support for these programs, and I think we’re going to see more of that.”

To set the solid foundation needed for a successful floating offshore wind project, local stakeholders and energy developers need to meet with the folks who will be most affected by port development, including Samoa Peninsula residents. 

Colleen Clifford, a representative of the Peninsula Community Collaborative, lives just down the road from the site where the gigantic floating wind turbines would be assembled. She’s been working with the Humboldt Bay Harbor District and other stakeholders to find “innovative” ways to reduce potential impacts wherever possible.

“We want to have a voice at the table when we determine community benefits or any funding opportunities that could help offset problems associated with the development,” Clifford said. “It’s really important to be a part of these coalitions. … I think a lot of the people who come out against [the project] are among the most misinformed. Our mission is to keep people abreast of what’s going on, and I think our biggest challenge is people’s capacity to pay attention because there have been a lot of changes and there’s a lot of misinformation out there.”

Another key component in creating a successful project is assembling a homegrown workforce that will support it. Cody Freitas, district representative for Operating Engineers Local #3, said the floating wind project presents a unique opportunity to bring back our underutilized port.

“There used to be jobs for people, and they could stay, they could raise a family and sustain themselves in this area. We need to bring some of that back,” Freitas said. “If we have industrialization on our bay, renewable energy is a great way to do it. Other projects have come into this area, and they’ve died for multiple reasons. And a lot of that is because there hasn’t been a really strong alliance between labor and environmental groups in the community.”

That alliance is key, Jacobson said.

“These coalitions have to be built and organized, and legislators — just like community members — have to be educated,” he continued. “What I want to do is make sure all of these folks — not only here, but on the Central Coast and down in Long Beach — know [when and where] they can provide public comments because the more community input we have on this, I think the better it’s going to be. It’s never going to be 100 percent perfect, but it’s going to be a lot worse than perfect if we don’t have the engagement.”

So that’s where things are at for now. There may be some offshore wind legislation coming up early next year, but, for now, local stakeholders are still meeting and looking for new funding opportunities to move the project forward. 

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