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AB 472

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

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Lisa Calderon and 3 co-sponsors

Requires state planning to include port infrastructure for offshore wind, and assess funding needs and bond/private options in IEPR and the 5-year plan to guide future funding.

In committee: Held under submission.
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Bill Summary · AB 472

AB 472 — Energy: integrated energy policy report: port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development

Author: Rogers
Introduced: February 6, 2025
Status: In committee — Held under submission (last action: 2025-05-23)
Fiscal: Referred to fiscal committee (no appropriation included in bill text)

Purpose / Intent

AB 472 directs state planning processes to explicitly recognize and plan for port infrastructure needs to support offshore (floating) wind energy development off California’s coast. The bill aims to ensure California’s five-year infrastructure planning and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission’s (Energy Commission) integrated energy policy report (IEPR) assess funding needs and funding opportunities for ports that will support offshore wind construction, assembly, operations, and maintenance — helping the state meet renewable energy goals (SB 100) and offshore wind planning targets.

Key provisions

  • Amends the California Infrastructure Planning Act definition of “infrastructure” to explicitly include “port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development.”
  • Requires the Governor’s 5-year infrastructure plan (submitted with the Governor’s Budget) to reflect this expanded definition.
  • Requires, beginning with the 2027 edition of the IEPR (covering the 2027–28 fiscal year) and in each subsequent IEPR edition, that the Energy Commission include an assessment of funding needs for port infrastructure to support offshore wind — contingent on a legislative appropriation for this purpose.
  • Directs the Governor and the Energy Commission, in consultation with specified entities (state, local, and potentially federal partners and stakeholders), to identify and assess federal, state, and local funding opportunities — explicitly including the potential use of general obligation bonds and private sector financing — to build port infrastructure for offshore wind.
  • Does not itself appropriate funds or authorize projects; it directs assessments and incorporation of findings into planning documents.

Who is affected

  • State entities: Governor’s Office, Energy Commission, Natural Resources Agency, and other consulted agencies.
  • Ports and local governments: port authorities and municipalities that host or would host retrofit/new port infrastructure.
  • Private sector developers and financiers: potential participants in funding/partnering for port upgrades.
  • Coastal stakeholders: fisheries, harbor tenants, and Native American/Indigenous communities (noted in the bill’s findings and existing strategic plan requirements for assessing impacts).

Timeline / procedural notes

  • Assessment requirement takes effect for the 2027 IEPR (IEPR is biennial; first affected edition: 2027), contingent on appropriation.
  • The bill has passed through multiple Assembly committees (Utilities & Energy; Natural Resources; Appropriations — referred to suspense file) and is currently held under submission.
  • The bill does not itself create new funding mechanisms; it is intended to inform future budget/bond proposals and infrastructure prioritization.

Potential impact

If implemented, AB 472 would ensure state infrastructure planning explicitly considers port investments needed for offshore wind, provide an evidence base of funding needs and options (including bond potential and private financing), and improve coordination among agencies and stakeholders. It stops short of committing funds or directing specific port projects; its primary effect would be to influence budget, bonding, and infrastructure prioritization decisions.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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