California has an opportunity to be a global leader in floating offshore wind: commissioner

California has an opportunity to be a global leading in floating offshore wind, however the resource needs to deliver as an energy resource in order to be a part of the state’s clean energy future, a California Energy Commission said.

“California can lead the US in floating offshore wind, just as we did in electric vehicles and solar photovoltaics,” California Public Utilities Commissioner John Reynolds said May 21 during the Pacific Offshore Wind Summit 2025 in Sacramento, California. “Challenges lie ahead, and they may be daunting, but our creativity is boundless, and we know how to solve problems. So, offshore wind can drive economic growth and help lift up communities. At the same time, offshore wind has tremendous promise for meeting the state’s clean energy goals.”

Earlier this month, 18 Democratic attorneys general filed a lawsuit seeking to block President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order to indefinitely pause all federal wind-energy leases, reevaluated existing leases and pause permit issuance for offshore wind.

“This does mean for the next four years, we may not be able to increase the pipeline for offshore wind through newly issuance,” Reynolds said. “And we can anticipate that federal funding support will be more difficult to get. But it is important to keep in mind that we don’t know how all of this will play out, legally or administratively.”

Nothing in the recent executive order lessens the strategic value of offshore wind as a reliable evening and winter resource, Reynold said, adding offshore wind complements the generation profile of solar. The PUC will continue to study and evaluate offshore wind and other resources in its integrated resource planning process and will continue to plan and build the clean energy infrastructure that will support California’s economy and meter clean energy goals, he added.

Compete with other renewables

Offshore wind could play an important and complementary role to other renewable resources, like solar, storage, and onshore wind, Reynolds said.

“But there are many unknowns, including the specific cost of these projects for ratepayers,” Reynolds said. “We expect offshore wind to compete with other renewable resources on a cost basis to be selected as part of [Senate Bill] 100 portfolio.”

SB 100, which was adopted in 2018, accelerated the Renewables Portfolio Standard goal to 60% by 2030. The bill also required RPS-eligible sources and zero-carbon resources to supply 100% of California’s electricity retail sales and electricity procured to serve state agencies by 2045.

Offshore wind has a complementary profile to onshore wind and solar, Reynolds said, adding onshore wind has reduced output during summer months, and solar energy, of course, does not generate at night.

“Offshore wind has a high capacity factor,” Reynolds said. “It operates nearly 50% of the time in winter months and over 60% during the summer.”

Decarbonization

“California is playing a historic and leading role in global decarbonization, powering one of the world’s largest economies with increasingly clean power, with our sights set on 100% clean energy by 2045,” Reynolds said. “The good news is that the existing two leases offshore of Humboldt could be used to develop 2.6 GW of offshore wind, while the three leases offshore at the larger Morro Bay lease areas could lead to development of 7.5 GW. This is tremendous potential.”

The 10 GW of potential offshore wind energy is more than the amount selected in the most recent Integrated Resource Plan and more than the state’s central procurement authorization of 7.6 GW, Reynolds said.

“The state will continue to make progress toward offshore wind deployment over the next four years,” Reynolds said. “Projects in existing leases have timelines that are generally not targeting completion during this federal administration.”

Long lead-time resource

Offshore wind is a long lead-time resource with huge potential to help serve demand growth from electric vehicles and data centers, Reynolds said. Building floating offshore wind turbines will take a long time.

“Offshore wind is a long lead-time resource requiring development across sectors, including ports, transmission, supply chain, research and development, ecosystem management, manufacturing, and more,” Reynolds said.

Long lead-time resources are not needed until the 2030s, with the first offshore wind deliveries coming online in mid-2037, long after the next presidential election, Reynolds said, about having time on their side.

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