The California Energy Commission (CEC) has issued a subpoena to Golden State Wind as part of its investigation into whether the company illegally accepted a buyout from the Trump administration to abandon its plans for a major offshore wind project off of the coast of California. The investigation revolves around the premature relinquishment of Lease OCS-P 0564, the circumstances surrounding it, and potential violations of law in connection with offshore wind lease buyouts.
With the subpoena, the CEC is asking for documents and information related to its recent agreement with the U.S. Department of the Interior to voluntarily abandon its offshore California wind lease in exchange for a $120 million payout and agreeing to make an equivalent investment in oil and gas projects outside of California. That agreement would not only result in Golden State Wind abandoning its existing lease in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area off of the Central California coast but also forgoing any future offshore wind projects in the United States.
According to Golden State's website, its planned floating offshore wind project was “expected to generate up to 2 gigawatts (GW) of clean offshore wind energy” and “help California meet its 100% clean electricity by 2045 goal.”
“The Trump Administration is recklessly spending billions of taxpayer dollars on backroom deals that would turn back the clock on innovation” said CEC Chair David Hochschild. “Californians deserve immediate answers about the nature of this payout. Taxpayer dollars should be used to build a sustainable energy future, not to pay to make projects disappear.”
In the subpoena, a copy of which is available here, CEC asserts that "...the buyout deal undermines significant investments made by the State of California and other public entities in California to develop the transmission and port infrastructure necessary for offshore wind projects, which were made in reliance on commitments by Golden State Wind and other companies who hold leases to develop offshore wind projects off the coast of California, as well as by the federal government."
According to the CEC, those commitments exceed $100 million dollars, which include, but are not limited to:
1. $42.75 million awarded through the Waterfront Facilities Improvement Program to five port projects to support the staging, integration, operations, and/or maintenance of offshore wind turbines.
2. $10.5 million awarded to the Humboldt Bay Harbor District to develop an offshore wind port facility to support staging, integration, operations, and maintenance of offshore wind turbines.
3. $42 million awarded to technology providers and national laboratories to develop innovative anchoring systems, mooring lines, floating substation designs, and environmental monitoring tools.
4. $3 million for offshore wind monitoring and ecosystem protection research and development at the Ocean Protection Council.
5. $1 million to develop the AB 525 Offshore Wind Energy Strategic Plan and its various technical sub-reports, the AB 3 Second Phase Port Readiness Study, and Offshore Wind Supply Chain Study.
Additionally according to the subpoena, "Golden State Wind’s lease also includes bid credit commitments of more than $24 million for workforce training and supply chain (p. C-22 of the lease), and $6 million in Lease Use Area Community Benefits Agreements (p. C-27 of the lease), plus any applicable interest and penalties. The company’s strategy for how to fulfill these funding commitments was included in its December 2022 lease auction bid package and indicates how they would have conferred direct benefits to California and other in-state entities and must be paid back if the company forfeits its lease."
