President Donald Trump has vowed to end the burgeoning off-shore wind power industry in the United States. That has major implications for the Central Coast, where three multi-billion-dollar wind farm projects are currently in the works.
California’s long-term energy plans call for wind power to supply nearly 15% of the state’s electricity by the year 2045. Much of that power is supposed to come from five-offshore wind farms, including three off Morro Bay.
Dawn Ortiz-Legg is San Luis Obispo’s 3rd District Supervisor. She supports wind power off the Central Coast and said it’s too early to say how this will impact the state’s clean energy goals.
“It’s important to recognize that there’s many aspects to the clean tech industry, and when it comes to the wind farms, these projects are many years out,” Ortiz-Legg said.
During his campaign, Trump called wind power “the most expensive energy there is,” and said wind farms “kill wildlife” and “ruin the environment.”
“They’re noisy, they kill the birds. You want to see a bird graveyard? You just go ‘take a look’, a bird graveyard? Go under a windmill someday, you’ll see more birds than you’ve ever seen ever in your life,” he claimed.
And it’s true that some Central Coast residents and environmental groups oppose off-shore wind farms, which would cover 376 square miles of ocean, with floating turbines as tall as 70-story buildings.
Nicole Dorfman is Secretary for React Alliance, a non-profit grassroots coalition based in Morro Bay. Dorfman says that React Alliance is in favor of the incoming administration’s new policies.
“Well, React is in favor of cutting off federal subsidies for the wind companies who are largely foreign companies. So we’ll certainly take that help if it is forthcoming to protect our coast,” Dorfman said.
A spokesperson for Golden State Wind, the company leading the development of wind farm production on the Central Coast, declined to comment on the possible impacts of Trump Administration policies.
Meanwhile, Ortiz-Legg said she’s optimistic about renewable energy, regardless of what’s ahead in a new Trump Administration.
“Anticipating things at this point is really hard. All we can do is just continue to work towards finding pathways to develop more industry here for us that’s clean, reliable, good paying jobs, and, again, is in balance with nature,” Ortiz-Legg said.
With the future of offshore wind energy hanging in the balance on the Central Coast, all of the parties involved will be watching closely to see what actions the Trump Administration takes.