Offshore wind may begin miles from shore, but its potential impacts don't stop there.

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From the waters of Humboldt Bay to offshore commercial fishing grounds to farms, ranches, and forests inland, this proposal could affect people and industries that have depended on these resources for generations.

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AQUACULTURE

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Humboldt Bay is their farmland.

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Humboldt Bay is one of California's most important shellfish-growing regions and an important source of shellfish seed for farms throughout the West Coast.

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Shellfish farmers grow food directly in the waters of the Bay. Protecting water quality and shellfish health isn't optional—it is fundamental to their ability to farm.

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What's at stake:

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Biosecurity & disease — Increased movement of large vessels and marine equipment from other ports creates concern about introducing shellfish diseases and other organisms into Humboldt Bay.

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Invasive species — Ships and marine equipment can transport non-native organisms between ports. Once established in an open bay, some invasive species can be extremely difficult to control or eradicate.

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Water quality — Dredging, disturbance of existing sediments, spills, antifouling coatings and increased industrial marine activity all deserve careful consideration in waters used to grow food.

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Vessel traffic — The proposed terminal would bring a new scale and type of vessel activity into the same Bay used for shellfish farming and nursery operations.

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West Coast seed supply — Humboldt Bay nurseries produce shellfish seed that is shipped to growers throughout the West Coast. A serious shellfish disease or biosecurity event here could have consequences far beyond Humboldt County.

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Ability to ship seed stock — Shellfish health requirements regulate the movement of shellfish between growing areas. The introduction of certain diseases could restrict where Humboldt-grown shellfish or seed can be shipped.

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For Humboldt Bay's shellfish farmers, a healthy Bay means healthy farms.

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COMMERCIAL FISHING

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Our ocean is already a working landscape.

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Commercial fishermen have worked the waters off the North Coast for generations.

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The offshore wind lease area overlaps fishing grounds used by several commercially important fisheries, including sablefish, Dover sole, thornyheads, albacore tuna and Chinook salmon.

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Floating offshore wind also occupies the ocean differently than a conventional fixed structure. Turbines would be connected to seafloor anchors via extensive mooring systems, with electrical infrastructure installed below the surface.

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What's at stake:

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Access to fishing grounds — Turbines, anchors, mooring systems and subsea cables could affect where and how commercial fishermen can safely operate.

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Dungeness crab — The Humboldt offshore wind area is not itself identified by BOEM as Dungeness crab fishing grounds. However, crab is one of the North Coast's most economically important fisheries, and questions remain about how offshore development could affect the broader marine environment on which the fishery depends.

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Crab larvae — Dungeness crab spend part of their life cycle as larvae moving through the ocean. Potential effects of offshore wind development on ocean conditions and larval transport deserve careful scientific study.

Navigation & safety — Floating wind infrastructure creates new considerations for vessels traveling to and from fishing grounds, particularly during poor weather and other challenging ocean conditions.

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For commercial fishermen, access to productive ocean waters is access to their livelihood.

LANDOWNERS

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Offshore wind doesn't stop at the shoreline.

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Getting electricity from offshore wind facilities to California's larger electrical grid would require major new transmission infrastructure.

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One concept being advanced by Viridon, a Chicago-based transmission developer, would include a new substation near Humboldt Bay, two new 500-kilovolt (500-kV) transmission lines, and approximately 400 miles of new transmission infrastructure connecting the North Coast to the I-5 corridor and California's larger electrical grid.

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The proposed route would largely follow existing utility corridors—but that does not mean it would fit within today's footprint.

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500-kV transmission lines are much larger infrastructure. Existing easements and rights-of-way would need to be reassessed, and in many areas the transmission corridor could become significantly wider.

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What's at stake:

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A larger footprint — Following an existing transmission corridor does not necessarily mean staying within the existing easement. New 500-kV lines could require a substantially wider swath of land for towers, conductor clearance, access and vegetation management.

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New easements — Existing utility easements would need to be evaluated and potentially expanded, raising important questions about property rights, compensation and long-term restrictions on private land.

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Farms, ranches and timberlands — A wider transmission corridor can mean loss of productive agricultural or timberland and new limitations on how property can be used.

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Loss of trees & habitat fragmentation — Widening existing corridors through forested areas could require additional tree removal and create a wider permanent break in otherwise connected habitat.

Property rights & property values — New or expanded easements could affect how landowners use, manage, improve or transfer their property and raise questions about impacts to property values.

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A new Humboldt-area substation — The transmission concept also requires major new electrical infrastructure near Humboldt Bay. The final location of that infrastructure has not yet been determined.

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Why Use the Existing Corridor?

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California's Garamendi Principles call for using and upgrading existing utility corridors before creating new transmission corridors across agricultural lands, open space and private property.

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That is an important principle.

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But using an existing corridor doesn't eliminate impacts on landowners if that corridor must be substantially widened to accommodate new 500-kV infrastructure.

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A line may already cross the property. The question is how much bigger that line—and its footprint—will become.

Landowners along potential transmission routes are beginning to receive information regarding the transmission planning process.