The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Offshore wind energy generation is an important component of California’s renewable energy portfolio.
(b) While offshore wind energy generation can provide significant climate and economic benefits, industrial scale development and deployment of offshore wind energy will also have impacts on coastal and ocean resources, fisheries, and coastal communities that are not yet fully understood.
(c) The urgency of the climate crisis and the importance of ocean health to maintaining a livable planet necessitate the expeditious development of offshore wind energy generation facilities and associated infrastructure in a manner that also avoids, minimizes, and mitigates impacts to ocean and coastal resources to the maximum extent practicable.
(d) Through science-based monitoring and mitigation, meaningful engagement with affected communities, adaptive management, and equitable workforce development, California can be a world leader in the rapid, just, and environmentally sustainable generation of renewable energy from offshore wind.