U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
DOE West Coast Offshore Wind Transmission Action Plan Charts Path to Increase Domestic Energy Production, Provide Cost Savings, Improve Grid Reliability and Local Energy Resilience, and Create Jobs

Today (Jan 16) the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Grid Deployment Office (GDO), in partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior's (DOI) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), released the Action Plan for Offshore Wind Transmission Development in the U.S. West Coast Region (Action Plan) to address coastal and offshore wind (OSW) transmission challenges on the U.S. West Coast. The Action Plan provides recommendations on how to connect the first generation of West Coast offshore wind projects to the Western electric grid and support transmission over the next several decades, while also producing cost savings, improved grid reliability, local energy resilience, and substantial job creation. Current and anticipated transmission challenges affecting delivery of power to the grid must be addressed to realize this potential.

Given the deepwater topography of the ocean off the West Coast, OSW development there will require floating technology, a nascent industry that has not yet been deployed at scale in the United States. The West Coast has an opportunity to demonstrate U.S. leadership in floating OSW technology development that unlocks significant opportunities to foster domestic energy production, maximize economic benefits and domestic job creation, and enhance the region's energy grid.

An Action Plan for Offshore Wind Transmission Development in the U.S. West Coast Region

With funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, DOE, in partnership with BOEM, developed the Action Plan to address coastal and OSW transmission challenges for the U.S. West Coast and detail how reliable power from wind resources could efficiently be captured and delivered to communities. Most of the recommendations are designed for implementation by state governments, Federal agencies, and private developers, but would benefit a wide range of entities, including Tribes, transmission planners, non-profit organizations, and labor organizations, among others. 

The Action Plan's 50+ recommendations are organized within five categories that each address a specific transmission development need.  High-level recommendations include:

• Planning and Operations: A long-term plan using a phased and flexible approach for transmission development will achieve the greatest economic benefit while making the best use of early transmission investments.  
• Partnerships, Collaboration, and Community Benefits: Multi-state collaboration, innovative revenue sharing models, and improved inter-agency coordination will be crucial to achieving the effective deployment of coastal and OSW transmission and addressing the needs of local communities.
• Tribal Opportunities & Support: Ensuring that decisions related to coastal and OSW transmission respect Tribal sovereignty and rights and honor the United States' trust responsibility is a federal priority for coastal and OSW transmission development. 
• Technology Advancement and Standardization: Coordinated efforts by government and industry should focus on technology standardization to support a domestic supply chain and incorporate geographic considerations into design specifications.
• Environmental Review, Siting, and Permitting: The responsible development of transmission infrastructure requires a strong foundation of environmental research and development that informs the siting of offshore transmission corridors; minimizes impacts during project planning, construction, operation, and decommissioning; and establishes effective long-term monitoring.

Development of the Action Plan was informed by the West Coast OSW Transmission Convening Series and the West Coast Offshore Wind Transmission Study.

West Coast Offshore Wind Convening Series

Throughout 2024, DOE and BOEM led a series of 12 workshops and released a Request for Information to engage Tribal Nations, federal and state agencies, cable and transmission providers, fisheries organizations, non-governmental organizations, developers, unions, utilities, and other ocean co-users and interested parties to discuss the challenges of coastal and OSW transmission planning along the West Coast.

West Coast Offshore Wind Transmission Study

GDO and DOE's Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) worked with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to conduct a transmission analysis along the West Coast from California to Washington. The study evaluates multiple pathways for OSW through coordinated regional and interregional transmission solutions in the near term (2035) and long term (2040/2045/2050), under various combinations of electricity supply and demand, while supporting grid reliability and resilience and ocean co-use. The West Coast Offshore Wind Transmission Study  was published in January 2025.