As a result of the Port San Luis Harbor Commission meeting held on Dec 2 at the Avila Beach Community Center, the commissioners voted to postpone their decision as to whether or not to accept the $3 million grant money from the California Energy Commission offered through the State's Offshore Wind Waterfront Facility Improvement Grant Program.

Their decision was based on the fact that the 2 feasibility studies currently in progress have yet to be completed. The consensus was that the commissioners will wait until the results are in from those studies before deciding whether or not to move forward. Both of those studies have been going on for some time. The Mott MacDonald study, initiated by San Luis Obispo County, was granted an extension by the commission a couple of months ago. Results are expected early in 2026. 

The evidence clearly shows that offshore wind energy is too expensive and unreliable to be a viable way to meet our electricity needs now and in the future. There really is no need to wait for the results of any feasibility studies. It is hard to believe that either of these studies would conclude the project to not be feasible. After all they would be awarded the contracts to build the project.  

The generation of electricity by wind tells a disappointing story. The political enthusiasm and investor hype are not supported by the evidence, even for offshore wind, which can be deployed out of sight of the infamous My Back yard. What does such evidence say? Professor Wade Allison-Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford, and a Fellow of Keble College. Author: The Inadequacy of Wind Power