California’s floating wind sector will be kickstarted by a 4.5 GW leasing round, as announced by the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) this week. Having been plagued by bureaucracy in the past, the success of this auction could be key to realizing one of the country’s hottest prospects in decarbonizing its power grid. Published on Tuesday, the California Proposed Sale Notice outlines five key areas that could be made available for offshore wind projects in the Morro Bay and Humboldt wind energy areas. Combined, the sites – covering 150,000 hectares of water – could provide up to 10% of California’s energy needs and power up to 1.5 million homes. The notice period is a 60-day public comment period…