Each leaseholder is required as part of the construction and operations plan to prepare materials to discuss socioeconomic activity and resources in the onshore and coastal environment that may be impacted by a project. Among the materials that they are expected to cover in their plan are major coastal industries in the impact area, economic modeling, commercial and recreational fisheries, recreational resource use plans, employment and demographic patterns, transportation use patterns, and viewshed impacted by construction and operation activities.
Two existing economic reports exist for the Central Coast. The first report from Cal Poly SLO professors published by REACH in 2021 analyzed a project delivering either 3 or 7 GW of offshore wind energy. The report found that the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area may generate $254.54 million annual economic impact and 617 long-term jobs for SLO County. Many of the economic impacts associated with the projects are located in wind farm construction, especially the ports where the turbines are assembled or maintained. The economic benefit of OSW development on the Central Coast is likely to be from port construction, planning, assembly, operation, and maintenance (O&M), and decommissioning (recommissioning). The report indicates that “Making economic benefits from OSW {offshore wind{ development a reality for San Luis Obispo County will require developing a specialized wind port as a hub for OSW jobs and regional supply-chain development…If a specialized wind port for OSW turbine assembly and repair is not constructed in San Luis Obispo County, then the regional economic benefits of jobs and economic output creation would occur instead in the county that provides the port.”
The full 2021 report is available at https://reachcentralcoast.org/wp-content/uploads/Economic_Value_OSW_REACH.pdf
The second report also from Cal Poly SLO professors published in April 2023 addresses economic and employment opportunities associated with the Central Coast’s proposed offshore floating wind projects. Working from an assumption that the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area projects will generate 3 GW by 2030, the authors examined a hypothetical 1 GW commercial-scale project with 66 fifteen MW turbines to determine anticipated worker demand for the Counties of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara.
A 1 GW Morro Bay project is predicted to generate 13202 construction jobs (during six years) and 684 annual operation jobs (25 years). The report model provides that 50% of the construction jobs and 80% of the operations jobs will be local. The construction jobs might include 272 full-time equivalent jobs on-site (construction workers, vessel operators, maintenance workers, lawyers, permitting consultants, management), 9753 local supply chain and service jobs (e.g. blades, towers, gearboxes, platforms, crane/ truck operators, gas workers, bankers financing construction, contractors, equipment suppliers, utilities, hardware stores), and 3177 “FTE induced” jobs (grocery store clerks, retail salespersons, restaurant workers). Operations might include 100 onsite jobs, 394 supply chain jobs, and 190 “induced” jobs. Professions that might create a bottleneck for local labor force include production, metal/steel industry, wind turbine service technicians, and engineering and transportation workers. The authors suggest that Bakersfield provides a strong labor market for recruiting wind turbine service technicians and plant/system operators. The authors propose focusing future workforce development in junior colleges, high schools, unions, and vocational training programs to support on-site and supply chain related occupations such as wind turbine service technicians, hoist and winch operators, and structural metal fabricators. Local universities can focus on training ship engineers, industrial engineers, vessel captains and operators, surveying, and mapping technicians, “computer numerically controlled tool operators”, programmers, and business professionals. Targeted investments may be needed in the construction of specialized port facilities near the Central Coast to support installation, operation, and maintenance of floating offshore wind projects.
The full 2023 report is available at https://content-calpoly-edu.s3.amazonaws.com/cei/1/documents/Full-Report-Ramezani-Rastad-Final-5-22-23_2.pdf
Back to top
Social impacts of proposed offshore wind project are often qualitative impacts that may be difficult to measure.
Coastal communities receive “cultural ecosystem services” from the coast which includes “non-material benefits which people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experiences”
In terms of aesthetic experiences, visual impact from offshore wind infrastructure is a key part of acceptance for many communities. Coastal residents and tourists generally prefer wind turbines to be located at greater distances from the coast.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has created visual simulations of a 1 GW project using 15 MW commercial turbines spaced approximately 6500 feet apart (about 1 nautical mile). The simulations include both day and night simulations. At night, each tower must be lit to comply with Federal Aviation Agency and US Coast Guard safety requirements.
These simulations are available at https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/california-visual-simulation
The leaseholders will be expected when they apply for a Construction and Operations Plan to submit additional visual simulations when decisions have been made about the actual location of the array of turbines within the wind project. 30 CFR 585.627 (a)(7) These Visual Impact Assessments are expected to include the view from variable heights “at and above the” beach and shoreline; known protected areas; and areas that are eligible for entry onto historic lists [including coastal prehistoric or historic resources listed on or potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places]. Visual impacts should also be assessed from frequented locations along the coastal area that are not directly on a beach.
Leaseholders in developing their construction plan are expected to address “design elements” that will include “visual uniformity, use of tubular towers, and proportion and color of turbines.” The leaseholders are expected to seek public input on the visual design elements. The leaseholders will likely need to submit a Visual Impact
B. Wiersma and P. Devine-Wright (2014) Public Engagement with Offshore Renewable Energy: A Critical Review, Wiley Interdiscip. Rev. Clim. Chang. 5(4): 493-507.
Back to top
Socioeconomic impacts can include local employment, local procurement, impacts on existing businesses (fishing, tourism), local services (e.g. emergency services), and community cohesion. Because many of the large offshore wind projects are relatively new, there are few academic publications on the local socioeconomic impacts of offshore wind. One recent publication provides some useful insights into local impacts.
J. Glasson et al. “The local socio-economic impacts of offshore wind” Environmental Impact Assessment Review 95 [2022]
In 2019, the United Kingdom had the largest number of connected wind farms with the greatest cumulative capacity in Europe (9 GW). What has been observed generally in the UK by researchers is that offshore wind jobs associated with large capital expenditures such as construction of offshore wind equipment (estimated at 2-3 billion pounds for up to three years) are expected to be largely offshored.
Development expenditures such as pre-construction planning and permitting (estimated at 120 million pounds for up to 5 years), operational expenditures such as maintenance and monitoring (75 million pounds per year for up to 20-25 years) and decommissioning (estimated at 300 million pounds) were expected to be largely UK based jobs. [Id.]
Ensuring community employment benefits can be a concern for projects. J. Glasson and his co-authors describe a small turbine 96 MW project off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland. They observed that in construction of the turbines, most of the construction workforce of around 200 individuals were not from the United Kingdom and that much of the established component production was also from outside of Scotland.
Similar concerns were raised for the four ongoing Hornsea projects off the coast of Hull, Grimsby, and Immingham designed at full build-out to generate 7 GW of power. In the first phases of these projects, there did not appear to be many local contracts for goods or services (10-15% of contracts) with many of the components being manufactured overseas. The UK did have a strong presence in cabling and in consultancies associated with the Hornsea offshore wind farm project. Local supply chains have increased in the areas including a turbine factory (1100 direct jobs), an offshore wind port facility, and an operating and maintenance service base (200 jobs). The build-out of wind has included investments in education programs including relevant certifications to support local offshore wind businesses and local apprenticeships in renewable energy. A community benefit fund (East Coast Community Fund) provides 465,000 pounds per year for community and environmental initiatives for each of the next 20 years; the fund is expected to increase with additional phases of the Hornsea project coming on-line.
Reflecting on the Aberdeen, Scotland example and the Hornsea, England projects, the authors observe that “There is increasing government concern and response in countries with major OWF [offshore wind farm] development/potential, as in the UK, that the industry should take the delivery of national and local content and economic success much more seriously. The Scottish Government…provides a positive example where developers will have to agree on supply-chain commitments when applying for OWF leases. The Hornsea project provides another example where there is a project requirement to deliver a local employment and supply chain plan working together with local agencies to support a range of local education/training and supply chain initiatives. This is becoming a requirement in most new UK OWF projects.” (Glasson et al. p. 9)
Other large capital expenditures (also known as CAPEX) specific to offshore wind include cable landfall connections, offshore spur lines connecting the system to transmission, switchgear, turbine interconnection, wind turbine supplies, project management, and port area support for delivery, storage, and handling.
Other operation and maintenance costs (also known as OPEX) that are different from other power generation systems include ocean condition monitoring, weather forecasting, blades, gearboxes, and generators
Back to top
