Implementing port electrification for a healthier coast will require a larger energy load on the existing grid & collaboration among a port (or several ports), port tenants, interested community groups, & electric utility companies. Some of the largest ports in the U.S. have solutions.

The proposed new 500/115-kilovolt (kV) transformer and approximately 6-mile line connecting offshore wind energy to the local Humboldt Bay grid means that electricity generated by offshore wind would directly benefit residents around Wigi/Humboldt Bay and those directly connected to the local Humboldt Bay electric grid.

Producing the materials required to build an offshore wind turbine does require resources and produce environmental impacts — particularly from steel mining and smelting. However, offshore wind has considerably fewer environmental and climate impacts per watt of energy produced compared to other forms of energy production—fossil fuels in particular.

It is highly likely that new transmission lines will follow the existing right-of-ways for the electrical transmission infrastructure that currently serves Humboldt Bay, since there would be fewer impacts than creating new right-of-ways. If existing right-of-ways are followed, depending on the design specifics, they may need to be expanded or rerouted in sections to accommodate larger setbacks associated with larger towers and higher capacity transmission lines.

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.

First, power would flow from each individual wind turbine to a floating offshore substation through an inter-array cable. From the offshore substation, power would flow via an export cable to an onshore substation where it could connect to the wider electric grid.

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.