At the conference, she met with Director of BOEM Amanda Lefton, as well as newly appointed California Energy Commissioner Kourtney Vaccaro (pictured, middle). Later, she was the keynote speaker at a fireside chat and panel at the residence of the Consul General to San Francisco, Gry Rabe Henriksen (pictured, left). The event was an illustration of the strong bilateral relationship between Norway and California, and the conversation covered floating technologies and offshore wind – topics that many Norwegian companies are well-versed in. There was broad participation from both West Coast government agencies and representatives of Norwegian interests.
This visit marked the beginning of an exciting period on the West Coast. Later this spring, the California Energy Commission will announce strategic planning capacity for offshore wind; and in the fall, the Bureau of Ocean Management (BOEM) will hold its first offshore wind lease sale in California.