RWE Names Its US Floating Wind Project, Plans to Open California Office

January 10, 2024, by Adrijana Buljan

RWE has released the official name of its floating wind project in California and revealed that the company will open an office in the city of Eureka in early 2024.

The project, named Canopy Offshore Wind Farm (Canopy), is being developed at a site located 45 kilometres (28 miles) off the coast of Humboldt County, for which RWE secured development rights in the 2022 federal offshore lease auction.

California Lease Sale Winners Are: RWE, Equinor, CIP, Ocean Winds, and Invenergy; Floating Wind Farm Capacities Higher than Initially Estimated

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The Canopy floating offshore wind farm in California will have an installed capacity of up to 1.6 GW, enough to power more than 600,000 homes, and is expected to be in operation by the mid-2030s.

“The name, Canopy, is our nod to the region’s iconic redwoods and a look forward to a future where Humboldt is home to a world-class offshore wind project that will provide new economic opportunities, including green jobs for the region, and power a clean grid,” said Canopy Offshore Wind Farm Project Director Rob Mastria. “The project name symbolizes RWE’s commitment to planting roots in this unique community and to developing a project that will bring generational investments to the region while moving the state closer to net-zero.”

RWE also says it plans to open an office in downtown Eureka in early 2024 for its local team, which recently expanded with the addition of three new team members.

“The Office of Economic Development is excited to partner with RWE to harness the significant opportunities that California’s emerging offshore wind industry offers. Canopy will breathe new life into Humboldt’s economy with local workers being trained to build and operate groundbreaking clean energy technology right here in our own backyard,” said Scott Adair, director of the Humboldt County Office of Economic Development.

Besides RWE, the winners of the 2022 federal auction in California – the first US offshore wind lease sale on the Pacific coast and the first-ever to procure floating wind capacity in the country – were Equinor Wind US, Invenergy California Offshore, California North Floating (Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners), and Central California Offshore Wind (Ocean Winds).

In November 2023, Equinor announced that Atlas Wind was the official name of the floating offshore wind project that the company plans to build off the coast of California.