Offshore staff
LA CIOTAT, France – BW Ideol says its planned offshore floating wind pilot project in California has progressed to the environmental assessment stage.
This represents the next milestone in a permitting process for what may become one of the first wind farms offshore California.
Based on the company’s Damping Pool technology, the 40 MW+ pre-commercial floating wind project will be installed off Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County.
On Oct. 21, the California State Lands Commission formally authorized the solicitation of Statements of Interest for consultant services for the preparation of environmental documentation and mitigation monitoring for the proposed wind farm.
The upcoming environmental assessment comes just over two years after the company’s initial lease application submission.
The company said the project development plan is leveraging its concrete hulls while also minimizing long-distance shipping and logistics, using local labor, supply chain and infrastructure in California to reduce the carbon footprint and maximize local content contribution.
In 2019, BW Ideol conducted an in-depth review of all major California ports and identified at least five suitable sites for construction and launch of concrete hulls for commercial-scale wind farms (50 units or more). Two of these were considered immediately suitable without any upgrades. In addition, the review found four sites suitable for wind turbine assembly and eight harbors capable of storing mooring lines as well as hosting operation and maintenance bases.
11/04/2021
