The Port of Long Beach has unveiled an ambitious plan to construct a floating wind facility, which could become the largest of its kind in the US. The facility, called Pier Wind, aims to support the manufacture and assembly of offshore wind turbines that can stand as tall as the Eiffel Tower.
According to the port, the facility would be situated on newly built land covering up to 400 acres, southwest of the Long Beach International Gateway Bridge within the Harbor District. Pier Wind could facilitate the generation of up to 20MW of energy, which could be towed by sea to offshore wind farms in Central and Northern California.
The port's executive director, Mario Cordero, believes that the facility's strategic location would make it a valuable addition to the development of offshore wind energy. Cordero said, “As society transitions to clean energy, our harbor is ideally located for such an enterprise – with calm seas behind a federal breakwater, one of the deepest and widest channels in the US, direct access to the open ocean, and no air height restrictions. No other location has the space to achieve the economies of scale needed to drive down the cost of energy for these huge turbines.”
The Pier Wind project is expected to contribute towards California's goal of producing 25GW of offshore wind power by 2045. Furthermore, it could help reduce the national cost of offshore wind power by up to 70% by 2035.
The facility would become the largest at any US seaport, specifically designed to accommodate the assembly of offshore wind turbines. The port anticipates that the project would help the US transition towards renewable energy, particularly in the face of climate change and the country's net-zero emissions target.
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The Pier Wind project could be a significant step towards the development of renewable energy in the US. The facility's location, size, and potential energy output make it a unique and valuable addition to the US's renewable energy portfolio. With plans to contribute towards California's offshore wind power target and help reduce the national cost of offshore wind power, the project could have far-reaching impacts on the country's energy future.
