Biden administration reveals plans for wind farms off the California coast
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.
Gina McCarthy, President Biden's senior climate change adviser, said on Tuesday the California projects will "set the stage for the long-term development of clean energy and the growth of a brand-new, made-in-America industry." California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) agreed, saying these "game-changing" wind farms will benefit "diverse communities" across the state. He believes the projects will be built 20 miles offshore, with room for about 380 wind turbines. The Pacific Ocean is deep, and the turbines will have to float, held in place by cables.
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.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks ground
Speed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resigns
Speed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Blind people will listen to next week's total eclipse
Speed Read While they can't see the event, they can hear it with a device that translates the sky's brightness into music
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Melting polar ice is messing with global timekeeping
Speed Read Ice loss caused by climate change is slowing the Earth's rotation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
An amphibian that produces milk?
speed read Caecilians, worm-like amphibians that live underground, produce a milk-like substance for their hatchlings
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jupiter's Europa has less oxygen than hoped
speed read Scientists say this makes it less likely that Jupiter's moon harbors life
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why February 29 is a leap day
Speed Read It all started with Julius Caesar
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US spacecraft nearing first private lunar landing
Speed Read If touchdown is successful, it will be the first U.S. mission to the moon since 1972
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Scientists create 'meaty' rice for eco-friendly protein
Speed Read Korean scientists have invented a new hybrid food, consisting of beef muscle and fat cells grown inside grains of rice
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New images reveal Neptune and Uranus in different colours than originally thought
Speed Read Voyager 2 images from the 1980s led to 'modern misconception'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published