With the climate rapidly changing, researchers are trying to find ways to make clean energy developments less expensive and easier to build. “When you get beyond depths of approximately 60 meters, generally, it’s not economical to use a fixed bottom foundation for a wind turbine, which is similar to when people think of land-based wind turbines and putting them in the sea floor,” Douville said. A federal offshore wind lease auction in December off California's coast promises to kickstart a work boom on the state's northern and central coasts