reas Assembly eames SACRAMENTO, CA 94249-0085, Vice CHAR: JUDICIARY eagle sisz195 California Legislature SuSNESe AND PrbrESSIONS Faeroe Bucs Ao oar aucbennerrecr sire 10 sevectcomurtees ‘SAN LUIS OBISPO. GA 93401 (eos) 540-9381 Fe 0s) 549.3400 CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION 'AND BULING A2¥" CENTURY WORKFORCE JORDAN CUNNINGHAM. CYBERSECUATY ASSEMBLYMENGER, THRTY-FIFTH DISTAICT sown commurree CtivaTe CHANGE POLICIES February 20, 2019 ‘The Honorable David Bernhardt Acting Secretary United States Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20240 Dear Secretary Bernhardt: I represent California’s 35" State Assembly District, comprised of all of San Luis Obispo County and the northern part of Santa Barbara County on California's Central Coast. It is on behalf of my more than 470,000 constituents, and all of California, that | write regarding the proposal to lease parts of our coastline for offshore wind power development. ‘As you may know, San Luis Obispo County's largest private employer, the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, has been slated for closure in 2025. With the closure of this power plant, San Luis Obispo County will lose nearly 1,500 head-of-household jobs. In addition, with the closure of Diablo Canyon, the entire state of California will lose nine percent of its energy production. This will make it more difficult to reach California's ambitious renewable energy goals. Under current law, California is mandated to receive 60 percent of our power via renewable energy sources by 2030. It will be difficult to meet this mandate without the nuclear power provided by Diablo Canyon. That is why the potential for offshore wind development is so critical to California. It could offset some of the lost energy production from the Diablo Canyon closure. Central Coast wind farms could readily tie into the existing energy transmission infrastructure at either Diablo Canyon or Morro Bay and transmit power to the state grid. There is perhaps nowhere else on the West Coast with this type of infrastructure. Priteaon Recyied PaperMoreover, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management projects that construction of offshore wind in California could create more than 1,300 jobs, with residual jobs for operation and maintenance extending far into the future. For these reasons, it is my hope that the federal and state governments can work together to facilitate offshore wind development. If my office can provide you with any additional information relevant to your decision, please contact us. Thank you for your consideration of this issue. Sincerely, Jéfdan Cunningham Assemblyman, 35" District CC: Walter Cruickshank, BOEM