Two events that will provide information — and take public comment — on a proposed 400-acre terminal for assembling and deploying offshore wind turbines are planned by the Port of Long Beach for Dec. 13 and Jan. 10.
The Pier Wind project was rolled out earlier this year at a commission meeting. If approved, officials said, Pier Wind would be the largest facility of its kind on the West Coast.
The proposed $4.7 billion development would create a floating, offshore wind facility designed to support the manufacture and assembly of offshore wind turbines standing some 1,000 feet tall — about the size of the Eiffel Tower.
Discussions and planning are underway with both state and federal officials.
Both public events will begin with an open house when port staff will be available to answer questions and share information about the project.
Afterward, a scoping meeting designed to provide an overview of the proposed project — and an explanation of the environmental review process — will take place.
The first open house and scoping meeting will be on Wednesday, Dec. 13, at the Port of Long Beach Administration Building’s first-floor multipurpose room, 415 W. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach. The open house starts at 5 p.m. followed by the scoping meeting at 6 p.m.
On Wednesday, Jan. 10, the open house starts at 5 p.m. at the port’s Administration Building’s first-floor multipurpose room, 415 W. Ocean Blvd, and the scoping meeting will be in the adjacent Bob Foster Civic Chambers in the Long Beach Civic Center, 411 W. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach.
Validated parking is available at the Superior Court of California parking garage, 101 Magnolia Ave., Long Beach. Motorists must enter before 7 p.m.
Comments will be gathered for an upcoming Environmental Impact Report and Environmental Impact Statement.
The Notice for Preparation and Initial Study for the project is available at www.polb.com/ceqa/.
The project would link into state and federal efforts to ramp up renewable energy sources in the next few years and decade.
The concept began, officials said at a May harbor commission meeting, with the port’s commitment as the “green port.”
“This is a great vision and adds to our resume as a green port,” Mario Cordero, port CEO, said in May, “and, for that matter, the greenest port in the nation.”
Despite funding challenges, he said, collaboration with various partners — and a political will along with private sector interest — can reach the goal.
Pier Wind would be created on new built land southwest of the Long Beach International Gateway Bridge. It would span up to 400 acres, bringing with it new jobs for communities around the port, according to port officials.
Construction could potentially start in January 2027, it was stated at the May meeting, with the first 100 acres operational in early 2031, the second 100 acres coming online in late 2031 and the final 200 acres in place by 2035 when the facility would be fully functioning.
“Imagine fully assembled wind turbines capable of generating 20 megawatts of energy,” Cordero said in an earlier press release, “towed by sea from the Port of Long Beach to offshore wind farms in Central and Northern California.”
The building components would have to be brought in by sea as they are too big to transport by road or rail, officials said. Once assembled, they would be sent out to offshore locations along the California coastline.