More than 250,000 acres off the California coast will be open to wind development, the Biden administration announced Tuesday.
Under this new plan, wind power projects would be built off the coast of Morro Bay in Central California and Humboldt Bay in Northern California, and combined, they could generate 4,600 megawatts of electricity that could power 1.6 million homes, the Los Angeles Times reports. Wind energy does not produce greenhouse gas emissions, and offshore wind farms will help fight climate change and create more than 77,000 jobs, the White House said. Now, there are only two wind farms in the United States, both on the East Coast.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
There is some pushback from a variety of detractors, including people who live on the coast and don't want to look at turbines. Previously, the Department of Defense cautioned that offshore wind farms off the California coast could interfere with military training and operations, but Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defense for policy, said on Tuesday suitable locations were found that are out of the way, the Times reports.
-
Who owns Gaza? Israel's occupation plansThe Explainer Egypt, Israel and Britain have ruled the beleaguered territory
-
Savages: a tragi-comedy set in a 'quirky handcrafted world'The Week Recommends This new animated film by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Claude Barras is undeniably political, but it has a hopeful message
-
Why 'faceless bots' are interviewing job huntersIn The Spotlight Artificial intelligence is taking over a crucial part of recruitment
-
Lithium shows promise in Alzheimer's studySpeed Read Potential new treatments could use small amounts of the common metal
-
Scientists discover cause of massive sea star die-offSpeed Read A bacteria related to cholera has been found responsible for the deaths of more than 5 billion sea stars
-
'Thriving' ecosystem found 30,000 feet underseaSpeed Read Researchers discovered communities of creatures living in frigid, pitch-black waters under high pressure
-
New York plans first nuclear plant in 36 yearsSpeed Read The plant, to be constructed somewhere in upstate New York, will produce enough energy to power a million homes
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study findsSpeed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
-
Breakthrough gene-editing treatment saves babyspeed read KJ Muldoon was healed from a rare genetic condition
-
Sea lion proves animals can keep a beatspeed read A sea lion named Ronan beat a group of college students in a rhythmic dance-off, says new study
-
Humans heal much slower than other mammalsSpeed Read Slower healing may have been an evolutionary trade-off when we shed fur for sweat glands
