offshore wind energy

A public comment period ends Monday night at midnight on plans to lease areas off California’s coast to wind energy development. Proposed for areas of the ocean roughly 20 to 30 miles offshore, the wind farms would consist of dozens of connected floating turbines generating electricity, conveyed to shore—and the energy grid—via a seafloor cable.

On this week's Issues and Ideas: Monday marks the transition from Jerry Brown to Gavin Newsom as California's next governor; we'll hear stories about "Brownisms" and Newsom promises. Tyler Pratt reports on a new California prison integration program has inmates' families worried for their safety. And Greta Mart attends a recent public forum on offshore wind energy and reports on how state and federal officials are taking public comment on locations proposed for offshore wind energy development—two of which are off San Luis Obispo County's coast. 

Local politicians, public school representatives, and solar and offshore wind energy company officials gathered in Avila Beach Monday to mark the introduction of federal legislation aimed at encouraging the renewable energy industry on the Central Coast.