California ISO plans for offshore wind connections

The California Independent System Operator (ISO) has recommended 26 new transmission projects worth USD 6.1 billion (EUR 5.7bn) in its draft 2023-2024 Transmission Plan, released on Tuesday, with a big part of the investment related to offshore wind.

California faces a growing need for additional electricity generation over the next 10 years as it moves to a carbon-free electrical grid. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has projected that the state has to add more than 85 GW of new clean generating capacity by 2035 and the ISO said its transmission plan is based on this forecast.

The draft plan recommends 19 “reliability-driven” projects estimated to cost USD 1.54 billion. Most of the expenses identified in the plan, a further USD 4.59 billion, are attributed to three major transmission lines that would connect floating wind farms off the coast of Humboldt County. Several smaller recommended connector lines would transport much of that energy into the Bay Area. The first offshore wind farms are expected to start generating electricity around 2034.

“These projects off California’s North Coast area represent the first wave of development for offshore wind to meet the state’s portfolio needs while also being flexible enough to expand in the future to meet any increased requirements,” said Neil Millar, the ISO’s vice president for Infrastructure and Operations Planning.

Overall, the 2023-2024 draft plan is designed to enable over 38 GW of solar generation, over 3 GW of in-state wind generation, the import of over 5.6 GW of out-of-state wind generation, over 21 GW of geothermal development, access for battery storage projects, as well as over 4.7 GW of offshore wind -- 3.1 GW in the Central Coast, the Morro Bay call area, and 1.6 GW in the North Coast area, the Humboldt call area.

California has set a goal of 25 GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2045.

Stakeholders can provide feedback on the preliminary plan until April 23, and a final version is set to be considered by the ISO Board of Governors at its May meeting.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.927)

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