Trident Winds’ unsolicited lease request for a 650 MW floating offshore wind project with a grid connection in Morro Bay, CA. has been accepted by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
Project would help to fulfill the California policy mandate that requires 50% of the state’s generation to come from renewable energy by 2030.
SEATTLE, Wash., March 21, 2016 – Trident Winds Inc. announced that BOEM has accepted and deemed qualified its unsolicited lease request filed earlier this year. Trident Winds has submitted an unsolicited lease request for the development of a floating offshore wind farm, Morro Bay Offshore, with a net capacity of 650 MW. If fully developed, the project site would have the expansion potential to 1,000 MW.
The Morro Bay Offshore will utilize the existing water discharge infrastructure to connect to the PG&E substation in Morro Bay. The city of Morro Bay owns part of the water discharge structure and the associated easement. Trident and the City of Morro Bay established a close, cooperative and transparent relationship under the Cooperation Agreement executed in October 2015.
Trident personnel have decades of experience in the electric power industry, power project development and offshore wind projects. Project development is expected to proceed in phases over several years with the initial phase placed in service during 2025.
BOEM in its press release stated “Today’s announcement marks an important step in facilitating the responsible development of clean offshore energy to power homes and businesses in the Golden State,” said BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper. “BOEM will work closely with the state of California, industry and a broad range of stakeholders to ensure that our leasing process is conducted in a thoughtful, engaged, and transparent manner.” The full text can be viewed on BOEM’s website: http://www.boem.gov/press03212016a/
California Senate Bill SB 350, otherwise known as the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act, enacted into law in October 2015, requires 50% of the state’s generation to come from renewable sources by 2030. Offshore wind installations located near load centers and the existing grid infrastructure present unique opportunity to California to access vast renewable energy resources available right off the state’s coastline in a cost-effective manner.
Ms. Weinstein said, “California has set out aggressive renewable energy development goals that will require significant effort on the part of state and local permitting agencies to bring the necessary renewable energy generation on line within the prescribed timeline. The Morro Bay Offshore project can play a small, but vital role in meeting California RPS goals, while creating a new offshore wind industry.”
About Trident Winds Inc.
Trident Winds INC. was organized in 2015 with a mission to develop deep water offshore wind projects by its three founders Ms. Alla Weinstein who prior founded Principle Power Inc. (PPI), Eric Markell, the former CFO of Puget Sound Energy, and Brian Walshe, a senior utility consultant formerly with McKinsey & Company and Navigant Consulting. Trident has retained Bodington & Company of San Francisco as financial advisor.
SOURCE: Trident Winds INC.
for Trident Winds INC., Alla Weinstein, +1-206-300-7721
for Bodington & Company, Jeff Bodington, +1-415-391-3280
