President Donald Trump's ban on new offshore wind leases won't halt the giant wind farms already planned off California's coast, but industry officials say the policy shift is a blow to a renewable energy still working to gain a foothold.

California's unique floating offshore wind projects are in the early planning stages, but when built, are expected to be instrumental for the state to reach its goal of producing 25 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2045.

That's enough to power 25 million homes and provide about 13% of the state's power supply.

California has been a strong supporter of the industry.

Voters approved a climate bond that included $475 million for offshore wind-related development at California ports, and the state's grid operator last year approved a $4.6 billion plan to build the infrastructure to carry offshore wind power to onshore transmission networks.

Capturing offshore wind energy is considered essential to achieving California's ambitious goal of electrifying its grid with 100% zero-carbon energy by 2045.

The presidential order has no immediate effect on leases already authorized, including two large areas in federal waters off California's coast, but it also prohibits any new approvals, permits, or loans for both land-based and offshore wind projects until federal agencies conduct a comprehensive assessment and report on the economic impacts and effects on birds, marine mammals, and other wildlife.

Among Trump's directives is trying to identify any legal basis for eliminating existing offshore wind leases.

Adam Stern, executive director of the industry group Offshore Wind California said that, while federal approvals are still required for the current projects, the California wind farms will rely on state agencies to shepherd them through the next phases.

For CalMatters, I'm Julie Cart.