California Offshore Wind 2022: Environmental Review, Morro Bay Approval and the Historic $757 Million Lease Auction
California Offshore Wind 2022: The Year Morro Bay Moved From Planning to Commercial Leasing
The California offshore-wind story changed dramatically in 2022.
For years, federal agencies, California officials, developers, tribes, fishermen, environmental organizations and coastal communities had been studying whether large-scale floating offshore wind could work along the Pacific Coast.
In 2022, that long planning process reached two major milestones.
First, the federal government completed its environmental review of the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area.
Second, the federal government conducted California’s first offshore-wind lease auction.
The December auction produced more than $757 million in winning bids for five lease areas, marking the first offshore-wind leases offered along the Pacific Coast.
One of those winning areas—OCS-P 0564—would eventually become the lease associated with Golden State Wind.
That connection makes 2022 one of the most important years in understanding the legal controversy that erupted in 2026.
1. 2022 Started With Environmental Review
The year began with the federal government working through the environmental review process that had started in late 2021.
BOEM’s task was not to approve a completed wind farm.
Instead, it was evaluating the environmental consequences of:
- issuing commercial wind leases;
- biological surveys;
- archaeological surveys;
- geological surveys;
- geophysical surveys;
- core sampling;
- meteorological buoys;
- potential subsea cable rights-of-way.
This distinction is important.
The federal government was deciding whether it could responsibly move forward with leasing and site-assessment activities, not whether a particular 2-gigawatt wind farm could immediately be constructed.
2. April 6, 2022 — Draft Environmental Assessment Released
On April 6, 2022, BOEM released its draft Environmental Assessment for the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area.
The WEA was approximately:
240,898 acres
or:
376 square miles
and located about:
20 miles offshore central California.
BOEM said the area, if ultimately developed, could support up to approximately:
3 gigawatts of clean-energy capacity
and potentially provide electricity equivalent to the needs of more than one million homes.
But those numbers represented potential capacity, not electricity that would immediately be produced.
That distinction should remain clear throughout any reporting on the project.
3. What Did the Environmental Review Actually Study?
The environmental assessment considered the potential consequences of activities that could follow lease issuance.
Among the issues were:
- marine biological resources;
- fisheries;
- archaeological resources;
- geological conditions;
- geophysical surveys;
- site characterization;
- meteorological buoys;
- subsea cable corridors;
- other ocean users.
The process also included consultation with:
- California;
- Department of Defense;
- Tribes;
- fishing interests;
- coastal communities;
- other ocean users.
BOEM’s goal was to identify potential impacts and determine appropriate mitigation measures.
This matters because later criticism of offshore wind often focuses on environmental or ocean-use concerns.
Those concerns were not ignored by the federal process.
They were part of the regulatory review from the beginning.
4. April 14 and April 19 — Public Meetings
BOEM held virtual public meetings on April 14 and April 19, 2022, to explain the draft Environmental Assessment and receive public input.
Members of the public and stakeholders could review the environmental analysis and submit comments.
This was another important step before commercial leasing.
The process demonstrated that the Morro Bay area was moving through several layers:
Planning → Environmental Review → Public Comment → Lease Proposal → Auction
rather than moving directly from political announcement to construction.
5. May 5, 2022 — Northern California Also Moves Forward
The California offshore-wind program was not limited to Morro Bay.
On May 5, 2022, BOEM announced completion of the environmental review for the Humboldt Wind Energy Area in Northern California.
That meant both Northern and Central California were moving toward potential commercial offshore-wind leasing.
This was important because the eventual December auction would cover five lease areas across both regions.
Three were in Central California near Morro Bay.
Two were in Northern California near Humboldt Bay.
6. May 26, 2022 — Federal Government Announces Proposed Auction
On May 26, 2022, the Department of the Interior announced proposed auction details and lease terms for offshore-wind development in the Morro Bay and Humboldt Wind Energy Areas.
The proposal included up to:
Five lease areas
covering approximately:
373,268 acres
with potential capacity of more than:
4.5 GW
across the proposed lease areas.
BOEM estimated the potential electricity could serve more than 1.5 million homes.
This was the moment when the California offshore-wind industry began to see a genuine commercial market forming.
7. Why the Auction Was So Important
Before 2022, California offshore wind was primarily a planning and development opportunity.
The auction created a mechanism for companies to obtain federal rights to develop commercial projects in specified offshore areas.
But winning a lease did not mean a developer automatically received permission to build turbines.
A lease gives a developer rights to pursue development under federal rules.
The company still has to submit plans and pass additional environmental and regulatory reviews.
BOEM later explained that leaseholders receive the exclusive right to submit Construction and Operations Plans (COPs) proposing construction, operation and eventual decommissioning of offshore wind facilities.
This distinction becomes extremely important later.
8. June 16, 2022 — Auction Seminar
Before the auction, BOEM held a public auction seminar on June 16, 2022.
The seminar explained:
- auction rules;
- bidding procedures;
- evaluation criteria;
- award procedures;
- how the online auction would operate.
This gave prospective bidders an opportunity to understand the rules before the sale.
The government was therefore preparing for a competitive commercial leasing process rather than awarding the areas directly to one developer.
9. July–August 2022 — Environmental and Regulatory Work Continues
While the auction framework was being developed, environmental and regulatory consultations continued.
BOEM’s 2022 environmental work included consultations under laws and regulatory frameworks dealing with threatened and endangered species and essential fish habitat.
The federal process also continued coordination with:
- California agencies;
- tribes;
- fisheries;
- coastal communities;
- defense interests;
- other federal agencies.
The offshore-wind program therefore remained a multi-agency process.
10. October 5, 2022 — Final Morro Bay Environmental Review
This was another major date.
On October 5, 2022, BOEM announced completion of the final environmental review for offshore-wind leasing in the Morro Bay WEA.
BOEM issued a:
Finding of No Significant Impact — FONSI
The agency concluded that the activities covered by the Environmental Assessment would not result in significant environmental impacts under the analysis.
But there is an important legal distinction.
FONSI did not mean:
“BOEM approved construction of a giant offshore wind farm.”
Instead, the FONSI addressed the environmental consequences of the leasing and site-assessment activities covered by the Environmental Assessment.
BOEM specifically stated that if it proceeded with a lease sale, a further Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) would be required before approving construction of an offshore wind energy facility in the Morro Bay WEA.
This is one of the most important facts in the entire 2022 story.
11. Why the FONSI Matters to the Later Dispute
The 2022 environmental review becomes important when looking back at the 2026 federal cancellation.
By October 2022, BOEM had already completed an extensive environmental assessment for leasing and site-assessment activities.
The review included coordination with the Department of Defense, Tribes, California and ocean users.
That does not mean the federal government could never later raise national-security concerns.
But it does demonstrate that the federal offshore-wind program had already incorporated national-security and environmental considerations into its planning.
That historical record is one reason the 2022 documents matter when understanding the later legal arguments.
12. October 18, 2022 — Final Auction Announced
On October 18, 2022, the Department of the Interior announced that BOEM would conduct the California offshore-wind lease sale on:
December 6, 2022
The final sale notice was published on October 21, 2022.
Five lease areas were placed into the auction:
Central California — Morro Bay
- OCS-P 0563
- OCS-P 0564
- OCS-P 0565
Northern California — Humboldt
- OCS-P 0561
- OCS-P 0562
13. December 6–7, 2022 — Historic California Offshore-Wind Auction
The most important event of the year occurred on December 6 and 7, 2022.
BOEM conducted the first-ever federal offshore-wind lease auction for California.
The auction covered five lease areas.
Five companies won the areas with combined high bids totaling:
$757.1 million
This was the first offshore-wind lease auction conducted along the Pacific Coast.
The results were:
| Lease Area | Winning Company | High Bid |
|---|---|---|
| OCS-P 0561 | RWE Offshore Wind Holdings | $157.7 million |
| OCS-P 0562 | California North Floating | $173.8 million |
| OCS-P 0563 | Equinor Wind US | $130 million |
| OCS-P 0564 | Central California Offshore Wind | $150.3 million |
| OCS-P 0565 | Invenergy California Offshore | $145.3 million |
| Total | 5 lease areas | $757.1 million |
14. The $150.3 Million Lease That Became Golden State Wind
Now we reach the part of the story directly connected to the 2026 lawsuit.
Lease:
OCS-P 0564
was won by:
Central California Offshore Wind LLC
with a high bid of:
$150.3 million
BOEM later recorded that the company changed its name after lease issuance to:
Golden State Wind LLC
This is the lease that later became the center of California’s 2026 legal challenge.
So the historical chain is:
2022 auction
↓
OCS-P 0564
↓
Central California Offshore Wind
↓
Golden State Wind
↓
2026 federal cancellation agreement
↓
California lawsuit
That connection is crucial.
15. Where Was OCS-P 0564?
The lease area was the central of three lease areas in the Morro Bay WEA.
Later Golden State Wind documentation described the lease area as approximately:
80,418 acres
or about:
325 square kilometers
and approximately:
22 miles offshore California at its closest point.
The lease was therefore far offshore rather than immediately adjacent to the Morro Bay shoreline.
That distance is relevant when discussing visual, coastal and marine impacts.
16. The Project Was Designed Around Floating Wind
The Morro Bay lease areas were intended for floating offshore wind.
This was necessary because of the extraordinary depth of the Pacific Ocean off California.
BOEM’s later environmental documents describe the California lease areas as being in waters ranging from approximately:
1,640 to 4,265 feet
or:
500 to 1,300 meters
deep.
That depth is one reason California became a major potential market for floating offshore wind rather than traditional fixed-bottom technology.
17. Why Floating Wind Was a Big Deal in 2022
Floating offshore wind had enormous potential.
It could allow turbines to operate in deeper waters farther offshore.
But the technology also presented challenges:
- higher costs;
- complex mooring systems;
- specialized vessels;
- floating platforms;
- subsea cables;
- port requirements;
- new manufacturing supply chains;
- limited commercial experience compared with fixed-bottom wind.
California was therefore attempting to create a new industrial sector.
The December auction was not simply selling ocean leases.
It was helping establish a market for an emerging floating-wind industry.
18. The Auction Also Included Economic Commitments
The California lease auction contained more than financial bids.
BOEM later reported that the five leases would result in more than $117 million for workforce training programs and U.S. domestic supply-chain investments for the floating offshore-wind industry.
This is important because the policy goal was broader than electricity generation.
The federal government and California wanted to create:
- skilled jobs;
- port capabilities;
- manufacturing;
- supply chains;
- floating-wind expertise.
That made offshore wind an economic-development strategy as well as an energy strategy.
19. What the $757 Million Did—and Did Not—Mean
The $757 million figure can easily be misunderstood.
It did not mean:
“California immediately received $757 million to build wind farms.”
It represented the combined high bids from companies competing for federal offshore-wind lease areas.
The companies were paying for rights associated with pursuing commercial development under federal rules.
Additional investment would still be needed for:
- surveys;
- engineering;
- permitting;
- transmission;
- ports;
- construction;
- turbines;
- floating platforms;
- cables;
- operations and maintenance.
Therefore, the $757 million auction was the beginning of a much larger potential investment cycle.
20. Environmental Approval Was Not Construction Approval
This point deserves repetition because it is frequently misunderstood.
In October 2022:
BOEM completed the environmental assessment for leasing and site-assessment activities.
In December 2022:
BOEM auctioned federal lease areas.
Neither action meant:
“The federal government approved construction of all five offshore wind farms.”
Future construction would require additional plans, environmental reviews and federal approvals.
BOEM’s later programmatic documents explicitly state that leaseholders must submit Construction and Operations Plans and that the leases themselves do not automatically approve construction.
21. What Did 2022 Change for California?
Before 2022:
California had offshore-wind plans.
After 2022:
California had actual federal offshore-wind lease winners.
That changed the economics.
Companies now had specific offshore areas in which they could develop projects.
Ports could begin planning around potential demand.
Workforce programs could become more concrete.
Transmission planning could become more focused.
Manufacturers could evaluate market opportunities.
Investors could assess actual lease positions rather than hypothetical areas.
22. What Did 2022 Mean for Morro Bay?
For Morro Bay and the Central Coast, the December auction created three federal lease areas.
One of them—OCS-P 0564—became the future Golden State Wind lease.
This meant the region moved from broad offshore-wind planning into a more specific development phase.
But local communities still had questions.
Among them:
- How would offshore construction affect fishing?
- How would electricity reach shore?
- What ports would be used?
- What jobs would be created?
- What environmental safeguards would be required?
- What would happen to marine ecosystems?
- How would the projects coexist with military activities?
- How much would the electricity ultimately cost?
Those questions would remain part of the development process.
23. 2022 Also Created Future Legal Expectations
A federal lease creates expectations for both sides.
The government expects the leaseholder to comply with federal requirements.
The company expects the government to administer the lease according to federal law and the lease terms.
Investors make financial decisions based on that regulatory framework.
This is why the 2026 cancellation became such a significant legal issue.
The government was not cancelling a simple proposal.
It was later moving against a lease that had emerged from a competitive federal auction and had been awarded under an established regulatory process.
Whether the 2026 cancellation was legally permissible is a question for the courts.
But the 2022 history explains why the cancellation was economically and legally significant.
24. A Critical Timeline of 2022
| Date | Event | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 5, 2022 | Morro Bay environmental scoping meeting | Public input continues |
| Apr. 6 | Draft Environmental Assessment released | Federal environmental review becomes public |
| Apr. 14 & 19 | Public meetings | Stakeholder input |
| May 5 | Humboldt environmental review completed | Northern California also advances |
| May 26 | Proposed California lease auction announced | Commercial leasing takes shape |
| June 16 | Auction seminar | Bidders receive auction information |
| Oct. 5 | Final Morro Bay EA + FONSI | Leasing/site-assessment review completed |
| Oct. 18 | Final auction date announced | December auction confirmed |
| Oct. 21 | Final Sale Notice published | Official auction rules |
| Dec. 6–7 | California offshore-wind auction | Five lease areas awarded |
| Dec. 2022 | OCS-P 0564 won for $150.3M | Future Golden State Wind lease created |
25. The Most Important Number of 2022
There are several numbers worth remembering.
240,898 acres
Size of the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area.
3 GW
Potential clean-energy capacity of the Morro Bay WEA if fully developed.
$757.1 million
Combined high bids for the five California offshore-wind lease areas.
$150.3 million
Winning bid for OCS-P 0564, the lease that became associated with Golden State Wind.
80,418 acres
Approximate size of the OCS-P 0564 lease area.
These figures explain why 2022 became such an important turning point.
26. The Deeper Economic Meaning
The auction demonstrated that investors were willing to commit substantial capital to California’s emerging floating offshore-wind market.
But the high bids also raised a different question:
Could floating offshore wind ultimately produce electricity at competitive prices?
Winning a lease is only one part of the cost structure.
Developers would eventually have to finance:
- floating foundations;
- turbines;
- mooring systems;
- subsea transmission;
- ports;
- vessels;
- construction;
- maintenance;
- decommissioning.
The commercial viability of floating offshore wind therefore remained an important unresolved issue.
27. The Environmental Balance
2022 also showed that California’s offshore-wind strategy was not intended to ignore environmental concerns.
The Morro Bay Environmental Assessment examined potential impacts before the lease auction.
BOEM’s review involved coordination with the Department of Defense, California, Tribes, fisheries and coastal communities.
At the same time, BOEM made clear that additional environmental review would be required before actual construction.
That layered approach would become important later as projects moved toward detailed development plans.
28. What 2022 Meant for the Future Golden State Wind Project
The future Golden State Wind project can be traced directly to the 2022 auction.
The company that won OCS-P 0564 was initially identified as Central California Offshore Wind LLC.
After the lease was issued, the company became known as Golden State Wind LLC.
The lease therefore represented the formal beginning of the federal lease relationship that later became the subject of the 2026 cancellation dispute.
This is why 2022 deserves its own article in this series.
Without the 2022 auction, there would have been no OCS-P 0564 lease.
Without OCS-P 0564, there would have been no Golden State Wind lease to cancel in 2026.
29. Why 2022 Is the Turning Point
The timeline can now be summarized:
2016–2020
Planning and stakeholder engagement
↓
2021
Morro Bay Wind Energy Area formally designated
↓
April–October 2022
Environmental review completed
↓
December 2022
Federal lease auction
↓
OCS-P 0564
$150.3 million winning bid
↓
Golden State Wind
Future leaseholder
↓
2026
Federal cancellation agreement
↓
California lawsuit
That is the historical chain readers need to understand.
Conclusion: 2022 Created the Lease at the Center of the 2026 Fight
2022 was the year California offshore wind moved from planning into commercial federal leasing.
BOEM completed its environmental review of the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area and issued a Finding of No Significant Impact for the activities covered by that assessment.
Then, in December, the federal government held California’s first offshore-wind lease auction.
Five lease areas attracted more than $757 million in combined winning bids.
One of them—OCS-P 0564—received a $150.3 million winning bid and later became known as the Golden State Wind lease.
The auction did not authorize immediate construction.
But it created the federal lease relationship, commercial expectations and investment framework that would eventually become central to the 2026 dispute.
In the next chapter, 2023, the five California leases became effective and developers moved deeper into project development, planning, surveys and stakeholder engagement.
FAQ
What happened to California offshore wind in 2022?
BOEM completed the Morro Bay environmental review and conducted California’s first federal offshore-wind lease auction in December 2022.
How much money did the California offshore-wind auction generate?
The five winning bids totaled more than $757 million, with BOEM reporting total high bids of approximately $757.1 million.
How much was the Golden State Wind lease?
The lease that became Golden State Wind—OCS-P 0564—was won for $150.3 million.
Was Golden State Wind called Golden State Wind in December 2022?
No. BOEM records state that the lease was initially won by Central California Offshore Wind LLC and that the name changed after lease issuance to Golden State Wind LLC.
Did the 2022 environmental review approve construction?
No. The Environmental Assessment and FONSI covered leasing and site-assessment activities. BOEM stated that an additional Environmental Impact Statement would be required before approving construction of an offshore wind facility in the Morro Bay WEA.
How large was the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area?
Approximately 240,898 acres, or about 376 square miles, roughly 20 miles offshore central California.
How much offshore wind could Morro Bay potentially produce?
BOEM estimated that the WEA could support up to approximately 3 GW of clean-energy capacity if fully developed.
Sources
- Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) — California Offshore Wind Activities
BOEM — California Activities - Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) — Morro Bay Wind Energy Area
BOEM — Morro Bay Wind Energy Area - Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) — Environmental Review for Central California Offshore Wind Leasing
BOEM — Central California Environmental Review - Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) — Golden State Wind LLC, OCS-P 0564
BOEM — Golden State Wind LLC - California Energy Commission (CEC) — AB 525 Offshore Renewable Energy Reports
California Energy Commission — AB 525 Reports
Primary Source Note
This article relies primarily on official records and publications from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the California Energy Commission (CEC). Auction figures, lease information, environmental-review details and the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area data should be verified against these primary government sources when the article is updated.