RCEA files lease application for floating wind project off California

The Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA) and a consortium of private companies have submitted a lease application for a 100 MW-150 MW floating offshore wind farm off the northern California coast to the US Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

The proposed lease area will be used to select a final project site expected to host 10 to 15 wind turbines.

The wind farm is to be located more than 20 miles (32 km) off the coast of Eureka, Humboldt County and the ambition is to bring it into operation in 2024.

RCEA selected the consortium, which includes floating wind technology firm Principle Power Inc, EDPR Offshore North America LLC and Aker Solutions Inc, earlier this year to form a public-private partnership to developer project.

"We are at the very beginning of a multi-year process, but so far, the response from the public has been positive," County Supervisor and RCEA board member Estelle Fennell said in a statement on Wednesday.

The project is expected to bring jobs and other economic benefits to the region and the developers hope it could eventually turn Humboldt Bay into a hub of a US west coast offshore wind industry.

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