The Redwood Coast Energy Authority has tapped Principle Power Inc., EDPR Offshore North America LLC, Aker Solutions Inc., H. T. Harvey & Associates, and Herrera Environmental Consultants Inc. to pursue development of up to 150 megawatts (MW) of wind energy capacity off the Northern California coast.

The wind resource in the Pacific Ocean near the Humboldt County coast has average wind speeds of more than 10 meters per second, meaning potentially high capacity performance from a wind farm.

The proposed project is a 100-150 MW floating offshore wind farm to be located more than 20 miles off the coast of Eureka, Calif. The project scope envisions using turbines of up to 8 MW in capacity and in water depths as great as 900 meters.

The power authority says it will finalize a partnership agreement with the companies in the coming weeks, working toward the goal of submitting a lease application to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in the spring of 2018 through the bureau's unsolicited lease request process.

The Redwood Coast Energy Authority is a local government Joint Powers Agency whose members include the County of Humboldt; the Cities of Arcata, Blue Lake, Eureka, Ferndale, Fortuna, Rio Dell, and Trinidad; and the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District.