On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum to prevent future leasing of offshore wind energy on the outer continental shelf.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is the lead agency for environmental review of offshore wind. BOEM has developed an environmental review process that takes nearly a decade.

Wigi/Humboldt Bay is home to a thriving aquaculture industry. Oysters and seaweed are farmed in the bay, and the oyster seed industry has exploded in the past decade or so, with many of the "seeds" (tiny oyster) grown on floating docks within or near the proposed Heavy Lift Terminal. The proposed Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal Project would likely displace or impact some of these businesses.

In May 2023, local environmental activists started a campaign to ask for the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Multipurpose Heavy Lift Terminal to be a zero-emission or “green” port. The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District adopted Resolution 2024-01, committing to the development and adoption of a Green Terminal Strategy for its Heavy Lift Multipurpose Terminal.

The benthic zone is the bottom or lowest ecological zone in the ocean. Benthic habitats are complex, consisting of a combination of physical, chemical, and biological conditions that are home to a variety of invertebrates and make up the largest single ecosystem on earth. Furthermore, many species of fish rely on the benthic for their food sources.

While wind turbine failures are infrequent, they typically occur in the blade mechanisms. Potential reasons for failure include manufacturing defects, adhesive joint degradation, trailing edge failure, or other specific causes. Most failures do not lead to catastrophic breaks but instead to less efficient power yields.

Compared to traditional fossil fuel-powered forms of energy production, offshore wind produces far fewer carbon emissions and air pollution; however, there are still other potential environmental impacts at different stages of construction and operation.

Lifecycle emissions analysis (1) of wind turbines typically measures the climate impacts in terms of grams of carbon emitted per kilowatt hour of electricity generated. This allows comparison between the carbon emitted to manufacture a wind turbine with that emitted during fossil fuel-powered electricity generation. Importantly, however, all research agrees that offshore wind power produces considerably less carbon dioxide than almost all other forms of electricity generation

The main concerns regarding impacts to fish are related to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and impacts to the upwelling system. There are also potential benefits to fish from the offshore wind farms. On the East Coast, offshore wind turbine platforms are acting as artificial reefs that enhance fish habitat. Some researchers have also theorized that, by reducing fishing, offshore wind farms can also benefit fish species in ways similar to a marine protected area.

Early research by the U.S. Offshore Wind Synthesis of Environmental Effects Research (SEER) project indicates that such effects are minimal: “to date, no impacts interpreted as substantially negative have been observed on electrosensitive or magnetosensitive species after exposure to EMFs from a subsea cable.”

Offshore wind turbines positioned more than 30 miles from the shore cannot efficiently transmit the generated power to the onshore grid without significant power loss. Offshore substations (OSS) are platformed infrastructures built on the sea that convert electrical power allowing for efficient long distance power transmission.

According to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the construction and operation of wind turbines could negatively affect commercial, recreational, and Tribal fishing in a variety of ways.

Not only do we need to replace existing dirty energy with renewables, but we need even more renewably-generated electricity to offset fossil fuels in newly electrified sectors.

Obtaining federal permitting for onshore electricity transmission is often slow and complex. Navigating this process required multiple federal agencies and regulations, resulting in many delays that imposed significant project impacts. To increase efficiency and make the process more effective, the U.S. Department of Energy released the Coordinated Interagency Transmission Authorizations and Permits Program (CITAP) with the goal of cutting federal permitting average timelines

Because Humboldt County's existing transmission infrastructure is extremely limited and insufficient to transmit so much energy to other parts of California, the successful implementation of offshore wind would necessitate the construction of new, larger transmission lines to connect Humboldt with the rest of the State.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the federal agency in charge of environmental review for offshore wind projects in the U.S. under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), uses an unusual three-part process for environmental review.

Our coastal marine ecosystems are dependent upon a phenomenon known as coastal upwelling, which occurs when strong, consistent northwesterly winds constantly push surface level coastal water offshore that is then replaced by much cooler and more nutrient-dense deep water. Offshore wind turbines work by converting kinetic wind energy into electricity. There is, therefore, an inherent loss of kinetic wind energy from the ecosystem due to the operation of wind turbines.

While floating offshore wind turbines are generally better suited to seismically active locations compared to fixed-bottom offshore wind turbines because of generally greater resilience against the effects of ground shaking, floating offshore infrastructure, let alone its onshore companions, are not at all immune to potential adverse impacts from earthquakes and other geological hazards.

Potential impacts of offshore wind energy development and operation on whales, seals, and other marine mammals include injury due to physical interactions with associated vessel traffic, entanglement, response to increased underwater noise, displacement from foraging or migratory habitat, and impacts associated with port development and expansion. The potential impacts on different species will vary depending on the location and operation status of OSW development and operat

Relative to onshore and near-shore habitats, there are currently thought to be fewer bird and bat species that live in offshore ocean waters, and studies are underway to better understand use of the area and potential risks associated with offshore wind.