Farm would occupy 399-sq-mile tract in California's Coastal Current, used by humpback (pictured) and right whales for migration, and as a feeding ground by blue whales.
"A number of public speakers at an offshore wind energy impact analysis scoping meeting said a full environmental impact statement should be prepared before the federal government leases tracts in an area northwest of Morro Bay.
But officials with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said a full EIS can’t be conducted on the effects of wind turbine installation and operation in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area until leaseholders propose specific projects that can be analyzed.
Located about 20 miles west of San Simeon, the Morro Bay area encompasses 376 square miles of ocean that officials say could support enough wind turbines to generate 3 gigawatts of electricity.
The comments came Wednesday morning at the second of two virtual meetings to help define what should be considered in an environmental analysis of activities that will determine the characteristics and suitability of the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area."