CALIFORNIA WAVES

PG&E spells out plans for wave project
Sara Hamilton, 15 February 2010 (Pacific Coast Business Times)

"Pacific Gas & Electric has unveiled crucial details about its proposed wave energy project off the coast of Vandenberg Air Force Base…PG&E said the project could be operational by 2014, generating as much as 100 megawatts of power and providing permanent non-fossil-fuel power for the base, one of the largest employers in Santa Barbara County.

"PG&E spokesperson Kory Raftery said a five-megawatt prototype effort in Humboldt County has paved the way for the project off the shores of Point Arguello…PG&E will install four different technologies at the short-term Humboldt facility in order to decide which device would be most effective in Santa Barbara County. The devices capture the ocean’s energy and transmit it through an undersea cable to land, where the energy is conditioned and fed to the electric grid…"

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"Raftery said the location of the project had many advantages, including nearby Vandenberg Air Force Base, which has an existing power grid that can handle a large interconnection. The base also has launch facilities that would allow large wave energy devices to be deployed easily into the ocean.

"The wave energy potential off California’s coastline is approximately 5,500 megawatts, according to a study by the Electric Power Research Institute, and PG&E hopes the 100-megawatt Central Coast project will tap that potential…[It] will likely be phased. The multi-stage approach will start with a small initial phase and potentially build up into a larger facility…[to] supply Vandenberg and a portion of Santa Barbara County…"

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"In December, PG&E applied for a permit for the Central Coast project from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the umbrella agency for wave energy project approval in the nation…PG&E expects permit approval by spring of this year…

"…[A]fter the project is approved…PG&E will start ramping up its outreach projects, conducting more extensive studies at the site and begin offshore mapping. There will also be futher studies on wave management, extensive research into historic wave capability and production and environmental impact reviews at the state, local and federal levels…Denver-based CH2Mhill is handling the environmental feasibility studies and Virginia-based SAIC will assist with the actual technology…The goal…is to produce reliable electric power with no impact on coastal activities…"