DOE Announces Efforts to Address Transmission Development for West Coast Offshore Wind

April 6, 2023

Reading Time : 6 min

In February 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released its West Coast Offshore Wind Transmission Literature Review and Gaps Analysis (“Transmission Review”) aimed at identifying areas where additional transmission studies will be required to support the development of offshore wind projects off the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington.1 DOE followed up the release of its Transmission Review with an announcement that it would be conducting a new 20-month West Coast Wind Transmission Study (“Transmission Study”), which will provide a roadmap for developing the transmission infrastructure necessary to eliminate the transmission constraints currently limiting offshore wind development along the west coast.2 Given the Biden administration, California and Oregon’s aggressive offshore wind goals and the fact that existing onshore transmission is insufficient to accommodate these goals, the Transmission Review and Transmission Study are likely to play a key role in planning for the build-out of transmission necessary to deploy major west coast offshore wind projects.

Background

The Biden administration has set a goal of bringing 15 gigawatts (GWs) of floating offshore wind online by 2035 and both California and Oregon have established offshore wind goals of 2-5 and 3 GWs by 2030, respectively.3 In line with these goals, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has established two Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) off the coast of California and two Call Areas off the coast of Oregon for the development of wind projects.4 BOEM conducted a lease sale for the two California WEAs representing five lease areas and 373,268 acres in early December 2022.5

But the WEAs and Call Areas established by BOEM—while representing high capacity wind areas—are located up to 65 miles from shore and are generally isolated from the high voltage transmission that will be necessary to transmit energy from offshore wind projects to high load areas.6DOE’s Transmission Review represents an initial first step towards addressing the transmission needs associated with west coast offshore wind projects by evaluating the existing west coast offshore wind transmission analyses and identifying other considerations that transmission planning analyses will need to take into account for these projects going forward. The Transmission Study will build on the Transmission Review by evaluating multiple pathways to ensure transmission is available to meet the administration and state offshore wind goals and will be used “to develop practical plans through 2050 to address transmission constraints that currently limit offshore wind development along the nation’s West Coast.”7

Transmission Review

Of the more than 30 west coast electric generation and transmission studies that were reviewed as part of the Transmission Review, DOE found a number of common themes, including a lack of:8

  • Transmission capacity at potential onshore interconnection points and transmission networks, particularly in northern California, necessary to connect offshore wind at the scale contemplated by the WEAs and Call Areas.
  • Suitable points of interconnection near the WEAs or Call Areas.
  • Consensus regarding the optimal ocean grid infrastructure or offshore transmission network for serving these projects.
  • Analysis that considers multiple interconnection points and/or multiple transmission systems.
  • Studies considering subsea transmission options.

DOE concludes that additional studies will be required to fully illuminate these themes, particularly if transmission development to support these important projects is pursued in a coordinated fashion.9

Additionally, the Transmission Review identifies a number of subjects that will need to be addressed going forward to ensure that adequate transmission infrastructure is developed to support the delivery of the electricity produced by west coast offshore wind projects. At the top of DOE’s list is the lack of interregional coordination.10 The Transmission Review notes that utilities in the West increasingly rely on long distance transmission to serve their loads and thus make interregional transmission coordination essential. Offshore wind, if coordinated with the resource needs of a large number of western load serving entities, could result in a holistic plan that integrates offshore wind projects for the benefit of multiple regions.11

The Transmission Review also suggests other technical considerations of offshore wind transmission development that should be evaluated in future analyses. Analyzing the interregional portfolios of loads and generation and how they are likely to change over time to accommodate state policy objectives could, for example, affect offshore wind’s role in the resource mix. Understanding the technological readiness of transmission and offshore wind infrastructure along with viable undersea cable routes would also be helpful to identifying alternative pathways for delivering energy from offshore wind projects to high load areas. And developing more concrete generation attribute and project cost estimates will be important for performing cost-benefits analysis related to these projects and their development paths.

The Transmission Review also notes that new policy developments will need to be considered as they arise in the planning process for west coast offshore wind.12 Indeed, a majority of the analyses summarized by the Transmission Review were completed prior to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and its extension of the tax credits for offshore wind to at least 203413 and appropriation of $100 million for planning interregional transmission development and the development of transmission for offshore wind energy.14And few, if any, of the analyses take into account more recent planning decisions—like the California Independent System Operator Corporation’s proposal to delay queue processing and evaluate whether it’s possible to study offshore wind and certain other long-lead time resources through a separate queue process—that are likely to affect the development of transmission necessary to support offshore wind projects.15

Transmission Study

While the 20-month west coast Transmission Study is just kicking off and few details are available yet, DOE’s corresponding Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Study is scheduled to conclude by November of this year and will likely provide some insight into what to expect from the west coast Transmission Study.16 DOE has stated that the Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Study will, among other things, identify scenarios and pathways of offshore wind energy deployment with transmission topologies, quantify the impacts of different offshore wind transmission scenarios, compare transmission technologies, and determine a critical point after which the benefits of a coordinated transmission framework will outweigh the benefits of radial generator lead lines.17

Conclusion

The west coast currently lacks the transmission infrastructure necessary to achieve the Biden administration, California or Oregon’s offshore wind goals. To meet these goals and ensure that the offshore wind projects contemplated to be developed in the WEAs and Call Areas are able to deliver their energy to high load centers, transmission planning to support these projects must commence soon. Although offshore wind projects have long lead times (the Transmission Review notes that BOEM’s process timeline anticipates up to seven years for a construction and operations plan to be approved),18 transmission projects cannot be built overnight and thus starting the planning process for the projects necessary to support west coast offshore wind is essential.19 The DOE’s Transmission Review and Transmission Study represent important first steps in that process.


1 U.S. Dept. of Energy, West Coast Offshore Wind Transmission Literature Review and Gaps Analysis (Feb. 2023), https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/articles/doe-report-helps-understand-west-coast-offshore-wind-transmission-needs.

2 See U.S. Dept. of Energy, New Analysis Studying West Coast Offshore Wind Transmission Options (Feb. 22, 2023), https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/articles/new-analysis-studying-west-coast-offshore-wind-transmission-options.

3Transmission Review at 8, 19.

4 Id. at 8.

5 U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Biden-Harris Administration Announces Winners of California Offshore Wind Energy Auction (Dec. 7, 2022), https://doi.gov/pressreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-winners-california-offshore-wind-energy-auction.

6 Transmission Review at 8, 15.

7 U.S. Dept. of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy Announces New Actions to Accelerate U.S. Floating Offshore Wind Deployment (Feb. 22, 2023), https://www.energy.gov/articles/us-department-energy-announces-new-actions-accelerate-us-floating-offshore-wind-deployment.

8 Transmission Review at 10-11.

9Id. at 11.

10Id. at 15.

11Id.

12 Id. at 16.

13 26 U.S.C. §§ 45, 45Y, 48 and 48E.  

1442 U.S.C. § 18715b.

15 Transmission Review at 16.

16National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Study (last visited: April 2, 2023), https://www.nrel.gov/wind/atlantic-offshore-wind-transmission-study.html.

17 Id.

18 Transmission Review at 8.

19 See, e.g., U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Proposed SunZia Southwest Transmission Project (last visited April 2, 2023), https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/plans-in-development/new-mexico/proposed-sunzia-transmission-project (noting that National Environmental Policy Act review began in 2009 for transmission project that has not yet commenced construction).

Share This Insight

Previous Entries

Speaking Energy

March 10, 2025

On March 5, 2025, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) approved Golden Pass LNG Terminal LLC’s (GPLNG) request to extend a deadline to begin exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its terminal facility currently under construction in Sabine Pass, Texas for 18 months, from September 30, 2025, to March 31, 2027 (the Order). The Order amends GPLNG’s two existing long-term orders authorizing the export of domestically produced LNG to countries with which the United States does and does not have free trade agreements (FTA).1  The Order does not amend the authorizations’ end date, which remains December 31, 2050. Under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA), the DOE may authorize exports to non-FTA countries following completion of a “public interest” review, whereas exports to FTA countries are deemed to be in the public interest and the DOE is directed to issue authorizations without modification or delay.

...

Read More

Speaking Energy

March 4, 2025

Join projects & energy transition partner Shariff Barakat at Infocast’s Solar & Wind, where he will moderate the “Tax Equity Market Dynamics” panel.

...

Read More

Speaking Energy

February 13, 2025

Oil & gas companies continue to identify and capitalize on opportunities related to the deployment of new energy technologies, with their approaches broadly maturing and coalescing around maximizing synergies, leveraging available subsidies and responding to regulatory drivers.

...

Read More

Speaking Energy

February 11, 2025

On January 30, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) approved a Stipulation and Consent Agreement (Agreement) between the Office of Enforcement (OE) and Stronghold Digital Mining Inc. (Stronghold) resolving an investigation into whether Stronghold had violated the PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM) tariff and Commission regulations by limiting the quantity of energy made available to the market to serve a co-located Bitcoin mining operation.1 This order appears to be the first instance of a public enforcement action involving co-located load and generation and comes at a time when both FERC and market operators2 are scrutinizing the treatment of co-located load due to the rapid increase in demand associated with data center development.

...

Read More

Speaking Energy

February 5, 2025

2024 was about post-consolidation deal flow and a steady uptick in activity across the oil & gas market. This year, mergers & acquisitions (M&A) activity looks set to take on a different tone as major consolidation plays bed down.

...

Read More

Speaking Energy

January 30, 2025

The oil & gas industry is experiencing a capital resurgence, driven by stabilizing interest rates and renewed attention from institutional investors. Private equity is leading the charge with private credit filling the void in traditional energy finance and hybrid capital instruments gaining in popularity. Family offices are also playing a crucial role, providing long-term, flexible investments.

...

Read More

Speaking Energy

January 23, 2025

Under a second Trump presidency, the U.S. is expected to consider reversal of many of the Biden administration’s climate and environmental policies, in addition to a markedly different approach to trade policy and oil & gas regulation. This includes expanding oil & gas development on public lands and offshore, lifting the pause on liquified natural gas (LNG) exports to non-Free Trade Agreement countries and repealing the methane fee.

...

Read More

Speaking Energy

January 15, 2025

We are pleased to share a recording of Akin’s recently presented webinar, “Drilling Down: What Oil & Gas Companies Can Expect from Federal Agencies During Trump’s Second Administration.”

...

Read More

© 2025 Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. All rights reserved. Attorney advertising. This document is distributed for informational use only; it does not constitute legal advice and should not be used as such. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Akin is the practicing name of Akin Gump LLP, a New York limited liability partnership authorized and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under number 267321. A list of the partners is available for inspection at Eighth Floor, Ten Bishops Square, London E1 6EG. For more information about Akin Gump LLP, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and other associated entities under which the Akin Gump network operates worldwide, please see our Legal Notices page.