$426.7 million will go to the harbor district from the Department of Transportation’s Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects program. That program was funded through the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
U.S. Representative Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, said he’s been pressuring the Department of Transportation to fund this major green-energy project.
“I think this is gonna be great for the climate,” he said. “I think it’s going to be great for the community, and it's going to be a gift that keeps on giving in terms of jobs, workforce development, economic development.”
Humboldt Bay is situated to be the first site to build a terminal for the construction and deployment of commercial offshore wind turbines on the West Coast.
It will help meet state and federal clean energy goals. The State of California is seeking 5 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030 and 25 gigawatts by 2045. The Biden Administration has also set nationwide goals, which include energy from floating offshore wind projects.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management auctioned off rights for the first offshore wind farms on the West Coast in December of 2022, and additional auctions are planned off the coast of Southern Oregon.
The Humboldt Bay Harbor District has raised around $446 million for the terminal, according to Executive Director Chris Mikkelsen.
The federal grant will be used for the first phase of the terminal, which will be fully operational for deployment of offshore wind, and include a 1,200-foot wharf. The cost for this first phase is also higher than any future expansions because it sets out the groundwork for the terminal, Mikkelsen said, including laying roads and setting up utilities.
Mikkelsen said they aim to have the terminal ready as early as 2028. He expects the port to be shovel-ready by next year.
The total cost for phase one is estimated to be around $853 million. The harbor district’s maritime partner, Crowley, has committed around $422 million in private investment, to match the federal funding. Crowley will develop and operate the terminal through a public-private partnership with the harbor district.
