Note: Excludes decommissioned capacity.
Data Source: California Energy Commission; American Clean Power Association.
Analysis by CEC Economics
Highlights
- California added 116 MW of wind capacity in 2024, and cumulative installed wind capacity totaled 6,329 megawatts (MW) in California, a 1.9% increase from 2023 (6,213 MW).87 On the other hand, the rest of the U.S. added 5,151 MW of wind capacity in 2024 — including 132 MW of offshore wind —reaching a total U.S. cumulative (excluding California) capacity of 152,736 MW. Total wind capacity has remained largely stagnant in California since 2012, but it continues to expand in the rest of the U.S. Outside of California, the nascent offshore wind industry is growing. South Fork Wind Farm, a 132 MW offshore wind project off Rhode Island, came online in March 2024.
- Since the Trump administration began in January 2025, there have been multiple actions to stop various offshore wind projects. They issued a stop-work order for Revolution Wind, an offshore wind project off the coast of Rhode Island that was 80% complete, on August 22, 2025. However, a federal judge ruled that it could move forward on September 22, 2025.88
87 Annual capacity additions and cumulative capacity may not always add up due to decommissioned, uprated and repowered wind turbines. Wind capacity data for each year is continuously updated as information changes.
88 “Federal judge lifts Trump administration’s halt of nearly complete offshore wind farm in New England.” Associated Press. September 22, 2025. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/trump-renewable-energy-offshore-wind-revolution-wind-f1cbe85a829e3d5e5496f834bcb617d1
Opportunities
- California had the first offshore wind lease sale in December 2022 for floating offshore wind (also the first successful lease sale on the West Coast),89 totaling 373,000 acres off the coast of Morro Bay and Humboldt County. The leases have the potential for 4,500 megawatts (MW) of new offshore wind capacity, enough generation to power 1.5 million homes.90 These leases are the first step towards the California Energy Commission’s goal of 2,000-5,000 MW installed wind capacity by 2030 and 25,000 MW by 2045.91
- California is also shaping the state’s future growth of the offshore wind sector. As a result of the passage of AB 525, the California Energy Commission (CEC) adopted the Offshore Wind Energy Strategic Plan in July 2024 on how to meet its offshore wind development goals for 2030 and 2045.92 In September 2023, the state passed AB 1373, which made numerous changes to electricity policy in preparation for offshore wind.93 Most notably, it authorizes the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to serve as a central procurement entity to procure energy resources in order to help the state meet its renewable and zero-carbon energy resources and reliability goals. In addition, California-ISO (CAISO) included the first phase of North Coast Offshore Wind development as part of the $6.1 billion buildout in its 2023-2024 Transmission Plan.94 The California Energy Commission also approved $42.75 million in grants to five of the state's ports to support the development of facilities for offshore wind in October 2025. The funds are from the climate bond passed in November 2024 and most of the funding ($20 million) will go to the Port of Long Beach. The other four ports are Oakland, Richmond, Port Luis, and Humboldt Bay.95
89 There are two types of offshore wind technologies: Fixed bottom offshore wind and floating offshore wind. The existing offshore wind projects that are online (Block Island Wind Farm, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind pilot project, and South Fork Wind Farm) are all fixed bottom offshore wind projects. Floating offshore wind is less mature than fixed bottom offshore wind.
90 American Clean Power Association. California Floating Offshore Wind. December 11, 2022. Accessed August 15, 2023. Available at: https://cleanpower.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/ACP_CA-Floating-Offshore-Wind_221206.pdf
91 California Energy Commission. California Continues to Advance Offshore Wind with New Report Detailing Options for Permitting Projects. May 10, 2023. Accessed August 15, 2023.Available at: https://www.energy.ca.gov/news/2023-05/california-continues-advance-offshore-wind-new-report-detailing-options
92 California Legislative Information. AB-525 Energy: offshore wind generation. Released Sep 24, 2021. Assessed Aug 22,2023. Available at: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB525
93 California Legislative Information. AB-1373. Published May 22,2023. Assessed October 23, 2024. Available at: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1373
94 California Independent System Operator. Offshore wind big part of ISO’s 2023-2024 Transmission Plan. April 2, 2024. Available at: https://www.caiso.com/about/news/offshore-wind-big-part-of-isos-2023-2024-transmission-plan
95 “California Approves $42.75M for Port Development to Support Offshore Wind.” Marine Executive. October 10, 2025. Available at: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/california-approves-42-75m-for-port-development-to-support-offshore-wind
Challenge
- The offshore wind industry is facing a mix of challenges. Although the Federal Reserve has begun lowering interest rates, the levelized cost of energy for offshore wind is still several times higher than that of solar and land-based wind and there may be additional headwinds with the return of the Trump Administration. In August 2025, the Department of Transportation cancelled $429 million in federal funding to turn Humboldt Bay into the United States’ first hub for floating offshore wind construction.96 In response, California approved $227.5 million from Proposition 4, the $10 billion climate bond passed in November 2024, to fund offshore wind port development.97 Similarly, the Trump administration issued a stop-work order for Revolution Wind, an offshore wind project off the coast of Rhode Island that was 80% complete, on August 22, 2025. However, a federal judge ruled that it could move forward on September 22, 2025.98
96 Clare Fieseler. “Anti-offshore wind groups target $426M grant for California port,” Canary Media. June 17, 2025. Accessed September 4, 2025. Available at: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/offshore-wind/california-port-trump-grant-cut
97 Nick DeMichele. “California Leaders Inject $227.5 Million Into Offshore Wind Port Development,” Oceanic Network. September 14, 2025. Accessed September 17, 2025. Available at: https://oceantic.org/press-releases/california-leaders-inject-227-5-million-into-offshore-wind-port-development/
98 “Federal judge lifts Trump administration’s halt of nearly complete offshore wind farm in New England.” Associated Press. September 22, 2025. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/trump-renewable-energy-offshore-wind-revolution-wind-f1cbe85a829e3d5e5496f834bcb617d1
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