Floating Wind Project in California’s State Waters Lays Foundation for Power Purchase Agreement

May 3, 2024, by Adrijana Buljan

CADEMO Corporation, established by Floventis Energy, and California Community Power (CC Power) have entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance the 60 MW CADEMO floating wind project off the California coast. The collaborative engagement under the MOU could ultimately lead to the two parties entering a power purchase agreement (PPA).

The project, proposed to be built in state waters off the coast of Vandenberg Space Force Base, is planned to enter commercial operation in 2028, before the offshore wind projects in federally leased waters off the California coast.

Floventis Energy, a joint venture between SBM Offshore and Cierco, submitted an application for the floating wind farm with the California State Lands Commission in 2019. In July 2023, Floventis Energy reached an agreement with the US Department of Defense (DoD) that enables CADEMO to operate in proximity to Vandenberg Space Force Base’s launch activities.

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Authorities

Currently, the California State Lands Commission and the US Department of the Air Force are working on a joint environmental impact report/statement (EIR/EIS) for the 60 MW demonstration project, and anticipate releasing the Notice of Preparation/Notice of Intent to begin the public scoping process this Summer.

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Planning & Permitting

The now-signed MOU could see CADEMO Corporation and CC Power, a Joint Powers Authority that conducts joint power procurement on behalf of nine California Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs), entering a PPA.

“This MOU marks an important step in CC Power’s efforts to support the rational development of floating offshore wind in California as an additional power generation resource that our CCA members can rely upon to provide clean, renewable energy and capacity benefits to serve their customers,” said CC Power General Manager Alex Morris. “The CADEMO project serves as a useful test case for how to build offshore wind projects on the West Coast and is unique in how soon it may be able to begin delivering power and development learnings to the power sector here in California, with its potential 2028 commercial operation date.”

Through the MOU engagement, CC Power aims to learn about the drivers of key costs in offshore wind development to build support for appropriate policies that balance local investment, jobs and community considerations, greater renewable energy penetration, and electricity affordability, the two parties said in a joint press release on 2 May.

Furthermore, CADEMO and CC Power said that, in collaboration with CC Power’s CCA members, they would facilitate community stakeholder sessions and acknowledge and integrate the perspectives of various local community members into the project’s development to ensure the floating wind project “gets built right”.

CC Power and CADEMO also intend to apply for grants, incentives, and other support to minimise the cost of offtake from the CADEMO project and maximise its power output.

“These efforts comprise a roadmap intended to drive the parties toward the potential for a power purchase agreement between them, with the energy benefits and costs flowing to the participating CC Power member CCAs,” the two parties state.

According to information about the project shared earlier, the CADEMO floating wind farm is planned to comprise four wind turbines with a nominal capacity of between 12 MW and 15 MW each, and incorporate different floating wind foundations.

Mikael Jakobsson, Director of CADEMO, added: “As California and the nation rely increasingly on renewable energy to reach their climate goals, they urgently need first-mover information to guide the launch of offshore wind. The CADEMO project will provide this information roughly five years ahead of any larger-scale offshore wind development. This will help offshore wind gain greater public acceptance and will resolve many practical challenges to help launch our sector and create new California jobs.”