The port of Long Beach in the USA has unveiled plans for a floating offshore wind facility to support California’s clean energy development.
The facility, known as Pier Wind, would support the manufacture and assembly of offshore wind turbines. According to the port of Long Beach, it would be the largest facility at any US seaport specifically designed to accommodate the assembly of offshore wind turbines.
The facility would span up to 400 acres (161.9 ha) of newly built land located southwest of the Long Beach International Gateway Bridge. Construction could potentially start in January 2027, with the first 100 acres (40.5 ha) operational in early 2031, the second 100 acres operational in late 2031, and the last 200 acres (81 ha) coming online in 2035.
“Imagine fully assembled wind turbines capable of generating 20 MW of energy towed by sea from the port of Long Beach to offshore wind farms in Central and Northern California,” said port of Long Beach executive director Mario Cordero. “As society transitions to clean energy, our harbour is ideally located for such an enterprise – with calm seas behind a federal breakwater, one of the deepest and widest channels in the US, direct access to the open ocean and no air height restrictions. No other location has the space to achieve the economies of scale needed to drive down the cost of energy for these huge turbines.”
