The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has released a proposed decision that identifies the need for central procurement of up to 7600MW of offshore wind energy in the next decade.
The document recommends three competitive solicitations rounds beginning in 2027 for projects coming online by 2037.
The American Clean Power Association has described the decision as a “critical step” in establishing an offshore wind industry on the US Pacific coast.
Molly Croll, Pacific offshore wind director at the American Clean Power Association, said: “This proposed decision is a critical step towards creating a robust offshore wind industry that will promote California’s clean energy, reliability and economic development goals.
“Although we were advocating for a 10GW procurement need, we are grateful to the CPUC for recognising the potential benefits of offshore wind to the state and the scale of procurement needed for supporting infrastructure at scale and for market transformation.”
The CPUC proposed decision stems from AB 1373 (E.Garcia), which authorized the central procurement of offshore wind and other diverse energy resources.
It follows the approval of the California Energy Commission’s AB 525 Strategic Plan and the California Independent System Operator’s 2023-2024 CAISO Transmission Plan, which approved new investments to integrate offshore wind into the California grid.