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Residents urge county not to extend offshore-wind study as companies falter
Summary
Residents and local groups urged the board to deny a time extension for a state-funded Mott MacDonald study of offshore wind operations and maintenance in Morro Bay and Port San Luis, citing lack of industry interest, environmental concerns and limited public outreach; county staff said the study is state‑grant funded, informational and not county-funded.
Dozens of speakers told the Board they oppose extending the county’s engineering and operations-and-maintenance study with Mott MacDonald for offshore wind infrastructure in Morro Bay and Port San Luis. Commenters cited federal permitting delays, bankruptcies in parts of the industry, risks to fisheries and marine life and a lack of public outreach so far. "We, the undersigned residents of San Luis Obispo County, object to the proposed massive wind turbines off our coast," said Nicole Dorfman, who said a petition of about 500 residents opposes the project.
Planning Division manager Susan Stracken said the study is funded by a 2022 state grant and uses no county general fund. It is an informational engineering report that evaluates technical feasibility of operations and maintenance in Hartford Pier (Port San Luis) and Cal Poly Pier in Morro Bay, she told the board. "We have no skin in the game," she said, adding that the county lacks permitting authority and that public meetings will be held when final studies are released. Stracken said grant funds committed to community outreach were deferred given federal-level delays in offshore-wind progress.
Supervisors acknowledged strong community sentiment and noted that the city and harbor district also have a role. The board agreed to consider an extension of the study period to June 1, 2026, to allow task completion under grant deadlines; public commenters urged the board instead to end the contract earlier and require public workshops.
