California Assembly members push to build massive wind turbines at Port of Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- California voters may have another bond to consider on the November ballot, one that promises to kickstart efforts to build massive, new offshore wind turbines at California ports.

Assembly members Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood), Jim Wood (D-Healdsburgh) and Josh Lowenthal (D- Long Beach) introduced AB 2208, a bill asking voters to approve a $1 billion bond to pay for infrastructure improvements needed to eventually create electricity-generating turbine facilities in ports such as Long Beach.

"These jobs will help our state meet its climate change goals and create countless new green, good-paying union jobs in my district," Lowenthal said at a Thursday news conference in Sacramento.

The bill sponsers say the need for more, clean electricity is needed due to California's shift toward electric automobiles, public transportation and manufacturing.

"To meet our climate goals, we need to produce enough offshore wind energy to power up to 25 million homes by 2045," Zbur said. "The cost of improving our ports to enable them to assemble these massive turbines is a multibillion-dollar effort. This $1 billion bond sends the signal that the state is committed to offshore wind and seeks to spur the public and private investment necessary to fund these port improvements fully."

The California Energy Commission says $11 billion to $12 billion is needed just to get infrastructure at the ports read for the turbines.