Posted on July 29, 2024
The agreement is the first step in what could be a six-plus year development process resulting in a facility that would anchor the multi-billion-dollar offshore wind industry and several hundred high-quality, long-term jobs in the Central Coast region.
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — On Tuesday evening, the Port San Luis Harbor District’s Board approved entering into a Project Evaluation Agreement (Agreement) with Clean Energy Terminals (CET), a leading developer of offshore wind port facilities across the U.S.
The Agreement enables the parties to jointly evaluate the technical and commercial feasibility of an offshore wind operations and maintenance (O&M) port facility in San Luis Obispo Bay. The facility could be utilized by multiple wind projects located in federal waters off California’s Central Coast. If an O&M facility is found to be feasible, the Agreement also sets out a pathway for parties to negotiate a lease option and subsequent long-term lease for the project’s development and operations. Project evaluation is expected to take between six and 18 months, with development of an O&M facility taking six-to-eight years in total, subject to permitting and the timing of California’s offshore wind projects. Any future lease option or long-term lease agreement will require a separate Harbor District Board approval.
Offshore wind is a multi-billion-dollar maritime energy industry that has experienced significant growth internationally and on the U.S. East Coast. It is now emerging off the Golden State’s coast as part of California’s effort to transition to zero-emission electricity generation by 2045.
Recent port studies and public feedback have suggested that larger offshore wind-related port facilities, such as the staging and integration ports under development in Humboldt Bay and Long Beach, are not well-suited to the Central Coast. Instead, smaller facilities such as O&M ports, which are typically no more than 5 acres in size and support vessels that come into port approximately once every other week, could be a good fit for the region. An O&M port would enable Central Coast communities to tap into the new job creation and local economic benefits that are stemming from the offshore wind industry without significant coastal industrialization.
“The Harbor District’s mission is to support commercial, recreational, and coastal-related activities, and to this end, offshore wind represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for San Luis Obispo Bay that we simply cannot overlook,” said Suzy Watkins, Harbor Director of the Port San Luis Harbor District.
Port San Luis has a long history as a commercial and energy port, including goods and passenger movement through Harford Pier, petroleum product export through the facility now known as Cal Poly Pier, and more recently offloading components for Diablo Canyon power plant.
“The commercial and energy-related activities of the last century led to infrastructure investments that harbor users still enjoy today, including Harford Pier and the federal breakwater. Offshore wind represents this century’s opportunity to invest in local maritime projects that will ensure the Harbor’s role as a critical economic engine in SLO County for generations to come,” Watkins continued.
“Today’s announcement is Day 1 of a thoughtful and thorough evaluation of the feasibility of an O&M port in San Luis Obispo Bay, and if feasible, what a facility could look and feel like. This process will include meaningful engagement with local communities, including residents of Avila Beach, local Tribal governments which have a deep historic association with the Bay, local advisory groups such as the Avila Valley Advisory Council, the commercial fishing community here in Port San Luis and in the region more broadly, and other local ocean users like the Surfrider Foundation,” said Port San Luis Harbor Commission President, Bob Vessely.
“We welcome the partnership with Clean Energy Terminals and are excited by the potential for Port San Luis to participate in this new economic opportunity for our County,” Vessely continued. “Entirely new maritime industries don’t come around often, and when they do it’s incumbent on us, as custodians of the Harbor, to look at them seriously and, if viable, to enable our community to access those opportunities.”
CET is a U.S. port developer that specializes in offshore wind projects with the capital and expertise to deliver an O&M port project from concept through operations. CET is developing a portfolio of wind ports across the U.S, working in partnership with public port authorities, harbor districts, and local municipalities.
“We believe that, at its core, infrastructure development is economic development. Ports are the pivot-point where investments in offshore wind generation are transformed into family sustaining clean energy careers, new supply chain investments for Californian communities, and growth opportunities for small and diverse Central Coast businesses,” said Brian Sabina, Chief Executive of CET.
“CET is committed to developing projects the right way,” said Sabina. “To us that means projects that reflect the values of host communities and are environmentally responsible. It also means delivering projects in a way that puts safety first and ensures long-term sustainability. In partnership with the Port San Luis Harbor District, we are evaluating whether an O&M facility is technically feasible and, if so, how it can be most responsibly delivered.”
According to an Oceantic Network report released in 2023, the U.S. needs to invest at least $36 billion in new and upgraded offshore wind port infrastructure over the next ten years across approximately 100 port facilities. The Californian Energy Commission estimates that $11-12 billion is required to upgrade port infrastructure across California to meet the State’s 25 GW by 2045 offshore wind goal. Port San Luis has been identified by multiple independent studies as a high-potential location for O&M facilities.
Senator John Laird, State Senator for Senate District 17 said, “I am pleased that the Port San Luis Harbor District and Clean Energy Terminals are having these preliminary discussions about potential O&M port facilities on the Central Coast — it’s important to understand the options and ground truth the facts. Offshore wind brings tremendous economic potential to the State of California, in addition to helping us reach our ambitious climate goals. Some of those benefits should serve the Central Coast, in the form of local jobs and tax revenues, consistent with the careful siting of any project to ensure the protection of ecological resources.”
San Luis Obispo County District 3 Supervisor, Dawn Ortiz-Legg said, “The Harbor District’s initiative in evaluating the potential for an O&M facility in San Luis Obispo Bay is welcomed. Additionally, the transparent, collaborative and stakeholder-driven approach that it is taking is to be commended. Our region is known globally as a leader in clean energy; but without fit-for-purpose port infrastructure we are at risk of missing out on the benefits of having wind generation off our shores. The choice is clear: either we take action today to ensure SLO County shares in the jobs and other economic opportunities that these projects will create or we let those benefits slip away to other parts of the state.”
If built, an O&M port facility would create a long-term link between the projects off California’s Central Coast and the San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara County communities.
Additional regional perspectives:
“Offshore wind developers have invested more than $425 million into three projects off the Central Coast. With the right infrastructure, our region is uniquely positioned to serve as a small-scale operations and maintenance hub, transporting crews and equipment to the sites 20-plus miles offshore,” REACH President/CEO Melissa James said. “This critical step builds on community collaboration between the Port San Luis Harbor District, SLO County and the private sector to further evaluate the possibilities and capture the jobs and other economic benefits of this new innovation industry.”
“Members of the IBEW and many of our partner building trades unions are already supporting the creation of an American offshore wind industry on the U.S. East Coast. We are now also actively supporting efforts in D.C. and Sacramento to ensure Californian’s can realize the same clean energy and economic benefits from offshore wind on the West Coast,” said Mark Simonin, Business Manager for IBEW Local 639. “We applaud the steps taken by the Port San Luis Board last night. They are creating a pathway for hundreds of new family-sustaining clean energy careers here in the Central Coast, both in terms of port project construction and long-term project operations.”
“Our members are proud to support the build-out of this burgeoning new industry off our coast, which will not only accelerate the shift to clean energy but will create hundreds of long-term, family-supporting jobs. With its highly trained and growing union workforce the Central Coast is well-equipped to successfully deliver the offshore and onshore infrastructure upgrades that are needed to get clean power to homes and businesses across our region,” said David Baldwin, Business Manager for the San Luis Obispo County Plumbers, Pipefitters, Steam Fitters, and HVACR Local 403.
A frequently asked questions (FAQs) with further details on the project evaluation agreement and O&M ports more broadly is available on the Clean Energy Terminal website: https://cleanenergyterminals.com/
Port San Luis Harbor District
Port San Luis Harbor District is responsible for maintaining the surrounding tidelands and beaches of San Luis Obispo Bay. The harbor on the Central Coast of California, approximately 1.3 miles north of Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County. Originally acting as a major import-export hub for passengers and commercial goods for the Central Coast, the harbor has also been a major port for oil exports, and now also serves as a recreational and tourist-serving area. The harbor is also used by local commercial fishermen and marine science researchers. For more information, please visit: https://www.portsanluis.com/
Clean Energy Terminals
Clean Energy Terminals is a project developer that invests in and develops offshore wind port infrastructure. Clean Energy Terminals’ projects unlock clean energy generation, create long-term jobs and enable new local economic benefits. As one of the only U.S. development teams to have successfully built offshore wind marshalling, manufacturing, and operations and maintenance facilities, Clean Energy Terminals has the technical, commercial, and stakeholder engagement experience needed to successfully deliver these major infrastructure projects. For more information, please visit https://cleanenergyterminals.com.
