Energy: integrated energy policy report: port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development.

Assembly Member Rogers, joined by Assembly Members Zbur, Calderon, and Connolly, proposes requiring the California Energy Commission to assess funding needs for offshore wind energy port infrastructure as part of its integrated energy policy report beginning in 2027. The assessment would evaluate requirements for construction staging, component manufacturing, final assembly, and long-term operations facilities to support offshore wind development along California's coast.

The bill directs the Energy Commission to collaborate with the Department of Finance, Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, State Lands Commission, and California Workforce Development Board to identify potential federal, state, local, and private sector funding sources, including general obligation bonds. This assessment would complement, rather than replace, existing local port evaluations for offshore wind development funding.

The legislation builds upon California's existing offshore wind strategic planning process, which identified a need for more than 16 large and 10 small port sites to meet the state's offshore wind goals. The strategic plan estimates these facilities would require approximately $12 billion in investment, with $475 million already allocated through Proposition 4 in 2024 for publicly owned port infrastructure supporting offshore wind manufacturing and assembly.