The US Port of Long Beach has released plans for a floating wind facility conceived to help California and the nation reach renewable energy targets in the coming decades.
Known as Pier Wind, the facility (pictured) would support the manufacture and assembly of offshore wind turbines standing as tall as the Eiffel Tower.
It would be the largest facility at any US seaport specifically designed to accommodate the assembly of offshore wind turbines, the port said.
Port of Long Beach executive director Mario Cordero said: “Imagine fully assembled wind turbines capable of generating 20MW of energy towed by sea from the Port of Long Beach to offshore wind farms in Central and Northern California.
“As society transitions to clean energy, our harbor is ideally located for such an enterprise – with calm seas behind a federal breakwater, one of the deepest and widest channels in the US, direct access to the open ocean and no air height restrictions.
“No other location has the space to achieve the economies of scale needed to drive down the cost of energy for these huge turbines.”
The Pier Wind project could help California meet goal of producing 25GW of offshore wind power by 2045, and contribute toward lowering the national cost of offshore wind power by 70% by 2035.
The facility would span up to 400 acres of newly built land located southwest of the Long Beach International Gateway Bridge within the Harbor District.