California's Offshore Wind Power Industry Sets Sail

California is entering the new waters of offshore wind power. The unique challenges and potential of developing offshore wind power in California have spurred numerous federal and state cooperation efforts. While other U.S. offshore wind power generating projects, including the handful in operation and planned for the U.S. East Coast, are generally located in shallow waters and anchored to the seafloor, California's continental shelf geology, which drops off steeply close to shore, will largely require wind power installations on floating platforms. Only a few such floating projects currently exist around the world, located in Europe and Asia at a relatively small scale. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, two thirds of potential wind power resources in the U.S. are located in deep water where floating platforms would be required. To facilitate development of these resources, the U.S. Department of Energy's Floating Offshore Wind Shot Program has set a goal to