Abstract
These themes reflect the perspectives of those who will drive—and be most impacted by—offshore wind as the state embarks on the initial implementation phases of this new industry following the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) lease auction on December 6-7, 2022. This document represents CLEE’s impressions from conversations held in 2022, not official positions from any industry representatives, stakeholder groups, or federal, local, state, or tribal governments involved.
- More than 100 participants attended CLEE’s 2022 convenings, representing a diverse array of stakeholders (fishing, tribal government, state/local/federal government, labor unions, environmental groups, wind developers, environmental justice and community groups, and more).
- CLEE completed more than 60 individual interviews with stakeholders throughout the project to better understand specific interests and perspectives.
- Twenty-four offshore wind and other professional experts contributed to the convenings, either through background context and information in individual interviews or through live presentations at the convening themselves.
- Several state government agencies attended the convenings, including the California Energy Commission (CEC), State Lands Commission, Coastal Commission, Ocean Protection Council, and Department of Fish and Wildlife. Representatives from BOEM also attended CLEE’s convenings and CLEE communicated with BOEM about the federal offshore wind leasing process.
Throughout the series, CLEE coordinated closely with CEC in particular to ensure alignment with CEC’s ongoing work as the state’s lead agency on this issue.
At times, the CLEE convenings provided the only statewide space in which diverse interests could come together and exchange information and views. Based on our interviews with participants, these sessions provided a space to dialogue with organizations outside of participants’ usual affinity groups and coalitions. Participants also shared that the convenings were a valuable means by which to obtain information about some topics that were otherwise difficult for non-experts to understand (for example, transmission). Staff from multiple agencies expressed appreciation for the convenings as a chance to hear stakeholder concerns firsthand. Having spaces like these that enable cross-cutting dialogue with the major stakeholders involved in offshore wind will be critical to ensuring just and equitable implementation.