Have you ever seen a wind turbine? The average wind turbine is about 280 feet tall and rotates at 10 to 20 rpm, which isn’t that fast. The U.S department of energy, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, is in the process of leasing an area off shore of Eureka for wind energy production. The area could contain as many as 60 wind turbines. This proposal, if executed properly could potentially power at least a million homes. That's a lot of houses!

Although the idea of putting these turbines in place seems straightforward and almost easy, It’s actually quite the opposite. Hours, and hours of strenuous work have been put into the planning and preparation of the wind turbine project. Several agencies are involved in the discussion and development of the turbines including BOEM, the U.S.C.G, the district harbor committee, the DOD and numerous other private and government agencies. Putting wind turbines into the waters of offshore Humboldt County would be a timely and well thought out process. However, it would greatly benefit thousands of people throughout the region.

First of all, the turbines would have to be built. They would be constructed in a factory that would be put up solely for the purpose of building them. In order to transport the turbines, the roads would need to be widened so that the large trucks could fit on them safely. The turbine's foundation itself won't be extended all the way to the sea floor like you would imagine. They were actually designed to float! It’s hard to imagine that something so enormous wouldn’t just sink to the bottom of the ocean, but believe it or not, they don’t. The turbines would have several mooring lines attached to them that connect them to the bottom, as well as an electric cable underneath each one that transfers the energy created through a transmission line to a floating substation, and from there it would then go through a transmission cable to the shore where it will be connected to the onshore electrical grid.

Back in 2018, extensive studies were done on the waters of offshore Humboldt bay and it was deemed very suitable for floating wind turbines. One of the factors that allows Humboldt bay to be classified as suitable is that it is a deep water port with no bridges to obstruct passageways leading to the open ocean. In addition to producing power to thousands of businesses and homes, the turbines would also provide hundreds of jobs to the local people of Humboldt county, which are especially important right now because of the loss of jobs due to COVID.

During an interview I conducted with the Coast Guard MSD(marine safety detachment) Supervisor who has been involved in the plans to make these turbines for quite some time, I asked him several questions about the project. One of the questions was: “What are the facts about the Wind turbines potentially harming the environment? Are these genuine concerns ?” He responded with, “Yes, there are concerns about the impacts the turbines will have on the environment. Some of those concerns include: what impacts the turbines will have on seabirds, fish, and whale migrations. There are also concerns about the potential for an increased pollution threat from the vessels that would be needed to construct and service the turbines. There are several agencies currently conducting environmental studies for this project.” Another question I asked him was about how long do you think it would take to get the turbines up and running. His response to this question was: “The BOEM is expected to offer the call area for lease in early 2022. Should an interested party lease the block, we would potentially be looking at steel going in the water in the next 5 to 7 years. This would be the first of its kind offshore wind energy project on the West Coast.”

After reading this article you can clearly see the detail and work that has been put into the preparation of the offshore wind energy project and also how it could potentially provide several positive benefits for the people of Humboldt County.