Gerdes, J. (2020, February 18). Navy Signals Willingness to Accept Wind Farms Off California’s Central Coast. Retrieved from https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/navy-signals-willingness-to-accept-floating-wind-farms-off-californias-central-coast

 

California just received the green light to build offshore wind turbines, but only in certain areas because of the military. Although this is a step in the right direction, the area that the military allowed California to build in is not enough to build a viable industry in. There is only enough space to build one small project, which will not become a sustainable industry, unless the military allows for more space to build wind turbines on. California has very ambitious goals in the offshore wind energy industry, but with the military holding them back, it might be hard to follow through with these plans. 

I think that California’s ambition is what we need right now in terms of alternative energy sources. I just hope that the military allows for more space for offshore wind energy because without that, we cannot do anything or make any progress in wind energy. This will be a good start though because this one small project will give insight into how well these floating turbines work, and the actual wind energy that is produced from the Pacific. Most of the offshore wind energy is being produced on the East Coast so far, but now this project will show us how efficient and if it will be different on the West Coast. Although California might not attain their goals for offshore wind energy, this project will be very important for the future of offshore wind energy.