Offshore Wind Dashboard

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California Energy Commission (CEC) 

The California Energy Commission, or CEC, is the state’s energy policy and planning agency,  and is responsible for climate-change related programs including energy efficiency and renewable energy procurement.

Under AB 525, the California Energy Commission (CEC) is the coordinating state agency, charged with developing a strategic plan and other analyses related to offshore wind for California. Among other things, the CEC is charged with 1) analyzing and quantifying the maximum feasible offshore wind capacity for California to achieve benefits for ratepayers, employment, decarbonization, and reliability; 2) establish offshore wind energy planning goals for 2030 and 2045; 3) assess the economic benefits of offshore wind as they relate to seaport investments and workforce development needs and standards; and 4) finalize a strategic plan to develop offshore wind energy

• CEC Offshore Renewable Energy page, with upcoming events calendar

• CEC e-Filings Docket 

• Data Basin: A compilation of spatial data and other data managed by the Conservation Biology Institute (CBI) and funded by the state. 

California Coastal Commission (CCC)

The California Coastal Commission (CCC) is ordinarily responsible for issuing Coastal Development Permits for the construction of transmission and interconnection infrastructure within the coastal zone. The Commission may delegate its permitting authority to local governments that have Commission-certified local coastal programs.

Importantly, the Coastal Commission is also the agency responsible for implementing the federal Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA). The CZMA grants state coastal management agencies authority to seek review of all federal activities and federally licensed, permitted, or assisted activities that affect coastal resources—regardless of where the federal activities occur. Coastal Zone Management Act consistency review may be a powerful tool in developing a coordinated and effective regulatory process.

• CCC’s Offshore Wind webpage
• Overview description of CCC’s role in offshore wind

U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, is the department within the U.S. Department of the Interior responsible for managing development of the nation’s offshore energy resources in an environmentally and economically responsible way. BOEM promotes energy independence, environmental protection, and economic development through responsible, science-informed management of offshore energy resources.

• BOEM’s California-specific activities
  • BOEM page for the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area
  • BOEM page for the Humboldt Wind Energy Area
•  BOEM Outreach Summary Report: California Offshore Wind Energy Planning, Updated September 2018
• BOEM updated outreach report: Outreach Summary Report Addendum: California Offshore Wind Energy Planning, Updated June 2021
• BOEM Visualization Video illustrating how wind turbines might look from various points onshore
• BOEM page for Pubilc Information Meetings and Outreach Efforts
• BOEM’s explanation of the commercial wind leasing process
• California Offshore Renewable Energy, BOEM California Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force
• A Citizen’s Guide to BOEM’s Renewable Energy Authorization Process
• A Citizen’s Guide to NEPA

BOEM’s Leasing Process

Source: BOEM presentation, CEC Workshop on AB 525 and CA Offshore Wind, March 3, 2022

Terminology Snapshot—What is the difference between BOEM “Call Areas” and “Wind Energy Areas”?

BOEM awards leases through an auction system. BOEM starts by identifying areas that have potential for wind development, which it designates as call areas. If there is sufficient interest from commercial developers and once public comment has taken place, BOEM denotes a call area with sufficient promise as a wind energy area, for which BOEM can hold a future lease sale.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Federal leasing for offshore wind grows as first U.S. offshore wind farm comes online,” (Dec. 2, 2016), available at https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=28992

BOEM California Activities

Check BOEM’s California Activities page regularly for the latest information

Intergovernmental Task Force

Subscribe to the California Intergovernmental Task Force mailing list to get notices about upcoming meetings and new developments

Subscribe to CA Intergovernmental Task Force here

CEC OSW Docket

Join the mailing list for CEC’s OSW docket to get notices about upcoming events, decisions, and comments filed on an ongoing basis

Subscribe to CEC OSW docket here

Community Benefits Templates and Resources (Fairshake Environmental Legal Services): A collection of accessible CBA guides based on PowerSwitch Action reports. Includes various handouts and 1-pagers intended to provide knowledge and direction for community advocates and leaders to navigate the CBA development process.

Community Benefits Overview and Materials (ReImagine Appalachia): Webpage provides a brief overview of CBAs and their relevance to federal climate investments followed by a continually updated collection of community benefits materials. The materials direct viewers to a wide range of resources spanning CBA “basics,” specific CBA components, case study examples, guides/toolkits, and the agreements’ application to rural communities.

CA Offshore Wind Community Benefits Agreement Timeline (Center for Law, Energy and the Environment, 2024): Drawn from CLEE’s April 2024 report, Offshore Wind & Community Benefits Agreements in California: CBA Examples, this figure maps an ideal CA offshore wind CBA process timeline against key project events, with reference to phases in BOEM’s Offshore Wind Timeline

Community Benefits Agreements Database & Guide (Columbia Law School Sabin Center): This webpage provides a continually updated database of existing CBAs that have been executed as part of development projects. Agreements span a wide range of states and project types (e.g., offshore and onshore wind energy, solar, transportation, and several others).

Community Benefits Agreements: Case Studies, Federal Guidelines, and Best Practices (CATF 2023): Highlights CBA case studies alongside best practices and federal agency insights with an aim to “bridge federal guidelines, developer understandings, and community priorities” in the development of equitable CBAs. Best practices are categorized into different stages of CBA development (e.g., Planning and Engagement, and Negotiation and Adoption, among others).

Wind Energy Community Benefits Guide (NREL Wind Exchange, 2023): Discusses community benefits in the wind energy development project context. The guide focuses on CBAs and related funds and investments that developers may voluntarily “utilize to provide additional financial and/or nonfinancial benefits for communities impacted by wind energy projects.”

Common Challenges in Negotiating Community Benefits Agreements & How to Avoid Them (PowerSwitch Action, 2016): Identifies four guiding principles for effective CBA negotiation and implementation. Also provides a detailed account of failure to execute these four principles, including case study examples of ineffective CBAs.

Delivering Community Benefits Through Economic Development: A Guide for Elected and Appointed Officials (PowerSwitch Action, 2014): A guide intended to help local government officials advance community benefits in their jurisdictions’ development projects. Key strategies discussed include enacting baseline community benefits provisions in ordinances and policies and incorporating community benefits into land use planning and policy – among several others.

Community Benefits: Practical Tools for Proactive Development (PowerSwitch Action, 2008): Introduces a set of 5 key tools involved in the community benefits approach to economic development – including community benefits agreements and institutionalized community benefits. The paper also briefs a few case studies and highlights key facts about CBAs.

Community Benefits Agreements: Making Development Projects Accountable (Julian Gross et al., 2005): Handbook that provides a comprehensive overview of CBAs. Begins by outlining CBAs’ basic components and implications, then highlights existing examples and specific provisions – including labor standards and environmental protection.