These are examples of floating offshore wind turbines that have been deployed around the world. Some of these designs may used off the coast of CA in the deep waters around Morro Bay and Humboldt. graphic courtesy of the University of Maine
Over 250 elected officials appreciate District Court decision in favor of wind energy projects
December 11, 2025
By Ramona du Houx
Sacramento, CA —On December 9, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts invalidated the Trump Administration’s action that froze the development of all wind energy, declaring it unlawful.
Never ending clean wind energy is a reliable, affordable energy that supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, creates billions of dollars in economic activity and tax payments, and already supplies more than 10 percent of the country’s electricity.
Wind energy on land in California is a proven key energy resource. Deep water offshore wind energy has an exponentially larger potential for the state. There are currently five permitted federal offshore wind leases off of California’s coast. Two are located offshore by Humboldt, while the remaining three are offshore from Morro Bay. These new developments are designed to bring enough clean energy to the grid to power 1.6 million homes and potentially more.
“Offshore wind can be a transformative industry for rural communities such as Humboldt County. The collapse of past resource extraction industries has left many rural communities such as ours with struggling economies. We have the opportunity to develop a new heavy lift marine terminal to service the offshore wind industry in a way to maximize local economic and community benefits while enhancing the natural environment of Humboldt Bay by remediating legacy contamination on industrial lands,” said Stephen Kullmann, Commissioner 3rd Division, Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District. “Supporting offshore wind supports the economic revitalization of rural communities.”
California’s offshore wind goal of 25 GW by 2045, aims to power millions of homes using floating turbines, starting with an initial procurement target of 7.6 GW by 2035, with five initial lease areas potentially yielding 4.5 GW or more, supported by significant port funding and strategic plans for infrastructure.
Offshore wind development will stimulate job creation across the region, with opportunities in construction, operation, manufacturing, and more. It is estimated that a single gigawatt (GW) floating offshore wind development in California would generate approximately 24,000 jobs during the six-year construction phase and over 600 annual jobs during operation.
“Floating offshore wind farms will diversify the state’s energy portfolio and bring a key energy security resource online to help meet the state goal of reaching 100 percent clean electricity by 2045. The President’s directive would have not only derailed this transition, it also would have jeopardized the creation of thousands of union jobs and the increased economic activity from the buildout across the region, with opportunities in construction, operation, manufacturing, and much more,” said Ben Collings, Frm. State Maine Representative, Elected Officials to Protect America Offshore Wind Director. “California is the world’s fourth largest economy. Communities preparing for offshore wind developments are determined, and dedicated to making this offshore wind opportunity a reality.”
Over 250 elected officials from across California have signed an Elected Officials to Protect America offshore wind letter supporting offshore wind energy.
According to a study published in Environmental Research 34,000 people in California died in 2018 from fossil fuel air pollution prematurely.
“Many in my community are forced to breathe in air saturated with fossil fuel particulate pollution because they work on farms. Many become sick and too many have died. Now we also face a federal administration attacking our community with deportations while taking away environmental protections,” said Firebaugh Fmr. Mayor, current Council Member Felipe Perez, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) California Leadership Council. “It is estimated that a single gigawatt (GW) produced from floating offshore wind in California would generate approximately 24,000 jobs during the six-year construction phase and over 600 annual jobs during operation. Wind is a clean renewable national security energy source, while fossil fuels continue to fuel a warming climate with CO2. My community needs clean air and stable weather.”
California communities are under siege by escalating fires, floods, heatwaves, droughts, and other disasters creating an affordability crisis, mainly due to continued use of fossil fuels.. From 1980–2024, 46 extreme weather and climate disaster events impacted California, with losses exceeding $1 billion each
BACKGROUND —
On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Memorandum that, among other things, indefinitely halted all federal approvals necessary for the development of offshore and onshore wind energy projects pending an indefinite federal review of wind leasing and permitting practices. Pursuant to this directive, federal agencies stopped all permitting and approval activities related to onshore or offshore wind energy projects. In May, California Attorney General Bonta joined a multistate coalition in suing the Administration, alleging that the President’s memorandum would harm states’ efforts to secure reliable, diversified, and affordable sources of energy to meet the increasing demand for electricity and help reduce emissions of harmful air pollutants, meet clean energy goals, and address climate change.