California’s San Luis Obispo Bay Being Evaluated for Wind O&M Port

California’s Port San Luis, a smaller central coast port used by commercial fishermen as well as recreational and tourist boating, is launching an exploration to become the first operations and maintenance (O&M) port for the planned California offshore wind industry. The Harbor District’s Board approved a port evaluation project working with Clean Energy Terminals, a company that was involved in O&M port planning including for the New Jersey Wind Port.

Port officials are citing recent studies and public feedback that suggest that larger offshore wind-related port facilities, such as the staging and integration ports under development to the north in Humboldt Bay or the south in Long Beach are not well-suited to the Central Coast. They are saying that instead smaller facilities such as O&M ports, which are typically no more than five acres, and support vessels that come into port approximately once every other week could be a good fit for the region. 

Further, the State of California’s Ports Readiness Plan released in July 2023 identified Port San Luis as a high-potential area for an O&M port facility. It is located close to Morro Bay the planned site for some of California’s offshore first wind turbines. It has a good natural harbor with a heritage of supporting the oil and gas industry.

California has set goals to deploy 2 to 5 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 25 GW by 2045. As part of this, state officials have estimated that $11 to $12 billion is required to upgrade port facilities. Across the United States, estimates have said that as many as 100 port facilities will be required for the offshore wind industry.

Looking to tap into the potential for investment and long-term employment opportunities, the port and CET signed a project evaluation agreement which sets the groundwork for the two entities to jointly evaluate the technical and commercial feasibility of an offshore wind O&M port facility in San Luis Obispo Bay. Project evaluation is expected to take between six and 18 months, with development of an O&M facility taking six to eight years in total, subject to permitting and the timing of California's offshore wind projects.

"Today's announcement is Day 1 of a thoughtful and thorough evaluation of the feasibility of an O&M port in San Luis Obispo Bay, and if feasible, what a facility could look and feel like," said Port San Luis Harbor Commission President, Bob Vessely.

If an O&M facility is found to be feasible, the Agreement also sets out a pathway for parties to negotiate a lease option and subsequent long-term lease for the project's development and operations. They are hopeful that this project could lead to a long-term lease agreement starting a new industry in the region.