West Coast transmission roadmap needed to achieve floating offshore wind goals

With significant transmission constraints, the US West Coast is at a pivot point when it comes to reliability and climate impacts, panelists said during the Oct. 4 Reuters webinar "The transformative roadmap for transmission, grid integration and interconnections on the West Coast."

The way power moves, how it is stored and how it is used has changed, said Kelly Boyd, director of policy and regulatory US west coast with Equinor Offshore Wind US.

"We will not have enough supply and we will not have enough clean energy, and offshore wind can be an anchor for this type of development," Boyd said.

However, transmission needs to be built to connect the offshore wind captured off the coast to load pockets where the generation is needed.

Interregional project

There are significant constraints on the West Coast for various reasons which are pushing the industry to think about point of interconnections that are north of California, said Travis Douville, wind systems integration portfolio manager with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He added an interregional transmission plan is needed to look across regional grid and state boundaries.

A project of this scale was tackled before in the West.

The creation of the Pacific DC Intertie, which was commissioned in 1971, took numerous studies and at least a decade of negotiations between the three states to accomplish, but serves as a "fantastic model" for what can do accomplished, Douville said. The line historically carries power from the Dalles Dam to the Los Angeles load pocket.

"It's a signal to me we can do these sorts of things because we've done them in the past," Douville said.

The Western Power Pool released a concept paper Oct. 2 from the Western Transmission Expansion Coalition, an informal group that formed in response to a push from Bonneville Power Administration stakeholders. WPP is seeking feedback on the concept paper, which outlines a new approach for Westwide transmission planning that would create an actionable transmission plan that addresses regional and interregional needs.

"This is just hitting so time is needed for more details to emerge," Douville said. "An entity such as this could bolster interregional planning to facilitate the coordination needed to optimize West Coast offshore wind deployments."

Benefits and challenges

There are macro benefits everyone receives from grid integration and transmission expansion, such as strengthening the electric supply, decarbonization and use of point of interconnection capacity, Douville said. However, there are also challenges, including limited access to those at the end of the line, which may vary based on the time of year, and wildfires which have grown over the years, threatening transmission usage.

The benefits to the community are only there is transmission planning is done intentionally, Douville said.

"We don't have time to wait," Douville said. "We need to start now and then grow into these."

Obvious tangible benefits of developing offshore wind include increased reliability and resiliency to the grid, expanded transmission, and the creations of jobs, including a re-skilled workforce, said Randhir Singh, director of transmission and interconnection with Vineyard Offshore. Businesses also benefit, both those with partnerships to develop equipment used in offshore wind farms, as well as local companies that will get business from the offshore wind employees, such as restaurants and retail.

"We're at the point where we need to build transmission and we know that and we're looking at various ways to connect," Singh said.

Offshore wind goals

California Assembly Bill 525, which took effect Jan. 1, 2022, requires the California Energy Commission to develop a strategic plan for offshore wind energy deployment off the California coast in federal waters. Specifically, the bill requires the Commission to develop a permitting roadmap that describes time frames and milestones for a coordinated, comprehensive and efficient permitting process for offshore wind energy facilities off the California coast.

The Commission set preliminary goals for up to 5 GW offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 25 GW by 2045. The bill has pushed the state in the direction of expanding with two offshore wind lease areas off the California coast, said Eli Harland, the California Energy Commission's offshore wind federal programs and outreach liaison.

The first federal offshore wind energy lease auction in the Pacific region took place Dec. 6-7 for lease areas near Humboldt Bay and Morro Bay off the California coast.

There are also two offshore wind planning areas off the Oregon coast.

The Biden-Harris administration set a US goal of 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 15 GW floating offshore wind by 2035.

"Getting transmission right is a key to meeting that goal," said Katie Segal, policy advisor with the US Department of Energy's Grid Deployment Office.

In the Atlantic, DOE focused on engagement to create an action plan that is timebound regionally with specific actions aimed at connecting first generation offshore wind to the grid, Segal added.