Morro Bay wind farm could add $262 million to economy — but it needs a wind port to do it
A 3-gigawatt wind farm off the coast of San Luis Obispo County could generate at least 650 good-paying jobs and $262 million in annual economic impact to San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties’ economies, a new study shows.
But that amount will only come if local officials double down on a larger plan to create a corresponding “wind port,” a central location for all work on the farm’s machinery, according to the study.
On Tuesday, the federal government announced it is fast-tracking a massive project that would feature offshore wind turbines floating northwest of Morro Bay after years of development.
The project, which would be built across a 399-square-mile area of the Pacific Ocean, would generate enough energy to power roughly 900,000 homes.
Economic impact group REACH recently commissioned the study from Cal Poly to determine not only the project’s impact on the local economy, but also what would be needed to maximize its benefits along the Central Coast.
The answer: A wind port.
“The analysis made abundantly clear that the economic benefits associated with offshore wind take place at a specialized wind port,” REACH CEO Melissa James said a Wednesday news release. “Without a specialized wind port on the Central Coast, the economic potential will not be realized here.”
What would a wind port do?
According to the study, local officials will have to develop a “specialized wind port as a hub for OSW (offshore wind) jobs and regional supply-chain development” to get the most out of the renewable energy project.
That would offer a centralized location for all work on the turbines before and after they are installed off the coast of Morro Bay.
The wind port would act as the assembly site when the turbines are first brought to the area. (Because they are so big, they have to be assembled close to the site and then shipped out.) It would also serve as a hub for any other construction, maintenance or repair needs related to the new wind farm.
The construction of a wind port or hub in San Luis Obispo County would add an additional $412 million to the local economy during the five years of its construction.
The wind port would also potentially add about 2,411 annual jobs over that span, according to the study.
“Proximity matters,” Walt Musial, offshore wind manager for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, said in the REACH news release. “The port handling construction, maintenance and repairs needs to be relatively close to the call area to achieve low energy costs, reduce emissions and maximize the amount of time the turbines are on the water generating electricity.”
According to the study, creating a local wind port is the only way to get the economic benefits of the turbine project on the Central Coast.
Because of that, local and state leaders are currently pursuing a feasibility study of such a port on the Central Coast, according to Wednesday’s REACH release.
The study will determine the best way such a project could be realized, especially in light of the impending closure of Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant and plans to build the world’s largest battery storage facility at the old Morro Bay Power Plant.
“We need to step up and explore what it would take to make sure those jobs land here in SLO County,” San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg said in the news release. “We have a long history as an energy-producing county, and this offers the possibility of reinventing that legacy as a central underpinning of our economy.”
To read the full study, visit reachcentralcoast.org/wp-content/uploads/Economic_Value_OSW_REACH.pdf
This story was originally published May 26, 2021 at 2:01 PM.
CORRECTION: This story has been corrected to clarify that the county will not see economic benefits from the Morro Bay wind farm without a wind port. A previous version incorrectly stated the $262 million economic impact was without a wind port.
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