Biden Administration Looks To Build Two Wind Farms Off California's Coast

The Biden Administration is looking to further its green agenda with two wind farms off the California coast. The wind farms would generate as much power as 1.6 million households would consume.

The projects would go a long way to fulfilling President Biden's wind power goals, which include doubling the amount of offshore wind production by the end of this decade.

The first proposed wind farm, near California's Morro Bay, will support 3GW of offshore wind and will take up an area totaling 399 square miles.

The second proposed site, in Humboldt County (Humboldt Call Area) near the Oregon border, will support up to 1.6GW of offshore wind power.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said that developing this wind power "could be a game changer to achieving California's clean energy goals," the Wall Street Journal reported.

Offshore wind installations are expected to drive a surge in copper demand, with each wind turbine requiring 63,000 pounds of the resource.

For every MW of generation capacity, wind power requires 8 tons of copper, according to the International Energy Agency. An increased emphasis on wind power may also create shortages of copper.

Combined, the IEA estimates that solar and wind will make up 80% of the global electric energy market by the end of this decade.

Governments worldwide are expected to offer a record of more than 30 gigawatts (GW) in tenders for offshore wind sites and capacity this year alone. For perspective, that is almost as much as the total existing UK wind capacity of 35 GW.

This latest development off the coast of California suggests that the United States will be taking its fair share of that total wind power pie.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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