CHAPTER
14. Offshore Wind Generation
25991.
(a) The commission, in coordination with the California Coastal Commission, the Ocean Protection Council, the State Lands Commission, the Office of Planning and Research, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, and the Public Utilities Commission, and other relevant federal, state, and local agencies as needed, shall develop a strategic plan to achieve a goal of at least 10,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy developments installed off the California coast by 2040, with an interim target of 3,000 megawatts installed by 2030.(b) (1) The commission shall submit the strategic plan to the Natural Resources Agency and the Legislature on or before June 1, 2022.
(2) The plan submitted to the Legislature pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(c) The strategic plan shall include, at a minimum, the following four chapters:
(1) Identification of sea space, including the findings resulting from activities undertaken pursuant to Section 25991.1.
(2) Economic and workforce development, including the findings resulting from activities undertaken pursuant to Section 25991.2.
(3) Transmission planning, including the findings resulting from activities undertaken pursuant to Section 25991.3.
(4) Permitting, including the findings resulting
from activities undertaken pursuant to Section 25991.4.
(d) (1) The strategic plan shall emphasize and prioritize near-term actions, particularly related to port retrofits and investments and the workforce, to accommodate the probable immediate need for jobs and economic development.
(2) In considering port retrofits, the strategic plan shall strive for compatibility with other harbor tenants and ocean users to ensure that the local benefits related to offshore wind energy construction complement other local industries.
(3) The strategic plan shall emphasize and prioritize actions that will improve port infrastructure to support land-based work for the local workforce.
(e) The development of the strategic plan regarding workforce
development shall include consultation with representatives of key labor organizations and apprenticeship programs that would be involved in dispatching and training the construction workforce.
25991.1.
The commission shall work with key stakeholders, state and federal agencies, and the offshore wind energy industry to identify suitable sea space for wind energy areas in federal waters sufficient to accommodate at least 10,000 megawatts of offshore wind generation off California’s coast, with a plan to assess and address environmental impacts and land use conflicts in accordance with California’s long-term renewable energy and greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.25991.2.
(a) The commission, in consultation with relevant state and local agencies, shall assess and develop a plan to improve existing waterfront facilities that could support a range of floating offshore wind energy development activities, including construction and staging of foundations, manufacturing of components, final assembly, and long-term operations and maintenance facilities.(b) The assessment undertaken pursuant to subdivision (a) shall include a detailed assessment of the necessary investments in California seaports to support offshore wind energy activities, including construction, assembly, and operations and maintenance. The assessment shall detail the potential availability of land and water acreage at each seaport, including
competing and existing uses, infrastructure feasibility, access to deep water, and bridge height restrictions.
(c) The assessment undertaken pursuant to subdivision (a) shall analyze workforce development needs for the California offshore wind energy industry, including occupational safety requirements, and the need to require the use of a skilled and trained workforce to perform all work. The assessment shall also analyze the need for the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to develop curriculum for in-person classroom and laboratory advanced safety training for workers.
(d) The assessment undertaken pursuant to subdivision (a) shall consider and make recommendations for workforce standards for offshore wind energy facilities and associated infrastructure, including, but not limited to, prevailing wage, skilled and trained workforce, apprenticeship, local hiring, and targeted
hiring, that ensure sustained and equitable economic development benefits.
(e) The assessment undertaken pursuant to subdivision (a) shall include consultation with representatives of key labor organizations and apprenticeship programs that would be involved in dispatching and training the construction workforce.
25991.3.
(a) The commission, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission and the Independent System Operator, shall assess the transmission investments and upgrades necessary to support at least 10,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy developments by 2040.(b) The assessment undertaken pursuant to subdivision (a) shall include consideration of eligible renewable energy resource technologies, including, but not limited to, offshore wind energy, as a resource for achieving the policy described in subdivision (a) of Section 454.53 of the Public Utilities Code.
(c) The Public Utilities Commission, in consultation with the commission, shall include offshore wind energy as a resource
for full consideration in the Public Utilities Commission’s integrated resource planning process.
25991.4.
(a) (1) The commission shall convene a working group that includes all relevant state agencies to collectively develop and produce guidelines, timeframes, and milestones for a coordinated, comprehensive, and efficient permitting process for offshore wind energy facilities and associated electricity and transmission infrastructure off the coast of California.(2) The working group shall meet no less than once per month to develop a comprehensive and efficient state and federal permitting program for floating offshore wind energy developments in federal waters, to be incorporated into the strategic plan. The program shall include a goal for the permitting timeframe, clearly define state agency roles, responsibilities, and
decisionmaking authority, and include interfaces with federal agencies, including timing, sequence, and coordination with federal permitting agencies, and coordination between reviews under the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000)) and the federal National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321 et seq.).
(b) The commission, in coordination with the State Air Resources Board, shall explore and identify how offshore wind energy development, to the scale identified in the strategic plan, could provide environmental and air quality benefits to the state and to disadvantaged communities.