Castle Wind signs MoU for floating wind farm

U.S. offshore wind developer Castle Wind has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a local utility in California concerning its proposed 1,000-megawatt floating offshore California wind farm, Kallanish Energy reports.

Castle Wind and Monterey Bay Community Power (Mbcp) have signed the MoU indicating their intent to sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) in the future for the project’s electricity.

“Castle Wind is pleased to be working with Monterey Bay Community Power on a Power Purchasing Agreement to deliver local clean energy from offshore wind,” said Alla Weinstein, CEO of Castle Wind. “While the project is still several years away, we know that offshore wind is poised to play an integral role in California’s electricity portfolio, which will help the state meet its aggressive climate goals at the least cost.”

“Monterey Bay Community Power is committed to serving our local communities with cleaner energy,” said Mbcp CEO Tom Habashi. “… we recognize the tremendous potential benefits of economically priced offshore renewable energy, including offshore wind’s primary system value coming from its ability to serve the region’s evening load when energy prices and carbon emissions are highest.”

The 1,000 MW wind farm would be located on the Outer Continental Shelf, more than 31 miles from the California coast in federally managed waters of the Pacific Ocean.

It will connect to the grid at the Morro Bay substation in Morro Bay, California. The wind farm is scheduled to begin operations in 2026 or 2027.

Castle Wind is backed by EnBW North America and Trident Winds. Trident Winds was established in 2015 to utilize prior permitting expertise in the marine environment for the development of deep-water offshore wind projects.

EnBW North America is a wholly owned subsidiary of EnBW AG, one of the largest energy supply companies in Germany and in Europe.

kallanishenergy.com