Don’t tell Santa Barbara Congressmember Salud Carbajal he’s a lame duck. Yes, his party just lost control of the House — albeit narrowly — in November’s midterm elections. Yes, Republican Kevin McCarthy will soon bang the gavel that Nancy Pelosi wielded. But right now, Carbajal is more of a crow — one with plenty to crow about.
For starters, this Tuesday, bids began pouring in for three federal offshore leases located 20 miles off the coast of Morro Bay for what Carbajal envisions as the largest offshore wind farm in the deepest waters in the United States, if not the world.
As of early Tuesday afternoon, private wind companies had ponied up $167 million to secure 376 square miles of some of the windiest patch of water off the Central Coast. With 41 companies qualified to compete for three leases — each 80,000 acres — Carbajal suggested the bidding could continue for several more days with several hundreds of millions more on the way. “Let’s just say the stars are aligned,” Carbajal quietly exalted.