trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/hpktpg8qngzllh_kv4mcpg2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Germany's EnBW joins bid to build Calif. floating offshore wind farm

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future

Research

US utility commissioners: Who they are and how they impact regulation

Blog

Q&A: Datacenters: Energy Hogs or Sustainability Helpers?


Germany's EnBW joins bid to build Calif. floating offshore wind farm

EnBW North America, a subsidiary of German power company EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, has formed a joint venture with Seattle-based Trident Winds LLC to develop the planned 650-MW to 1,000-MW Morro Bay Offshore Wind Project off the coast of central California, the companies announced June 11.

Building on technology advances in Europe, the developers plan to energize the floating offshore wind farm by 2025, Trident Winds CEO Alla Weinstein said in an interview. "There is no doubt California needs [offshore wind]," Weinstein said, noting that state lawmakers are considering a proposal to require utilities to cover all of their retail sales with renewable energy. Asserting that offshore wind has distinct advantages because of its high capacity factor, she said the Morro Bay project would offer a capacity factor of more than 50% at competitive prices.

The joint venture initially will focus on obtaining a site lease from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and securing a grid interconnection agreement. Trident filed an unsolicited lease request with BOEM in 2016, but the federal agency plans to open up site development through a competitive auction. BOEM is working with California through a joint task force to collect offshore wind data and inform the bidding process.

The vast majority of California's estimated 392 TWh/year of offshore wind potential is in water deep enough to require floating offshore wind technology, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

"EnBW will have a direct presence in this promising market to capture opportunities and to further build up EnBW's offshore project portfolio," Dirk Güsewell, head of the company's generation portfolio development, said in a news release.

EnBW is majority owned by the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg and a separate municipal association of regional and local authorities. The company has 336 MW of offshore wind projects in operation off the coast of Germany, 610 MW under construction and 900 MW in development.

Weinstein declined to disclose the financial terms of the joint venture.