PG&E ends Humboldt wave energy project
From today’s T-S:
The Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has announced that it is suspending its effort to develop a wave energy project off the coast of Humboldt County.
The utility cited “significant permitting challenges” and higher-than-expected projected costs. The proposed configuration and location of the project made it unviable, PG&E said in a statement.
The WaveConnect project was touted as first of its kind. PG&E wanted to test three to four different types of wave power generators in an area 1/2-mile wide and 2 miles long about 3 miles to sea roughly west of Arcata. The utility had said that intense wave activity off the Humboldt coast, and the chosen area’s proximity to a working harbor, made the site ideal.
Wave energy around the world
From Ocean Amps:
Although we’re still years away from getting a significant amount of clean, renewable energy from waves, a recent article Wave Power Could Reduce Dependency on Oil that appeared in U.S. News and World report is an indication that there is increasing interest in wave and tidal energy.
Specifics and success stories are still hard to find. The article mentions several competing technologies and projects in Europe, including the Pelamis project in Portugal that was apparently abandoned in 2009,Aquamarine Power’s Oyster, which is currently being tested in the waters off Scotland, and Checkmate Seaenergy’s Anaconda, which has yet to be tested in the real world.
Commercialization may be closer in the U.S. In California, PG & E is planning to test up to four different technologies with its Wave Connect project in Humboldt County and is evaluating the potential for tidal energy in San Francisco Bay.
But Reedsport, Oregon may be the site of of the first commercial wave energy project on the West Coast. Surfrider Foundation is an active stakeholder in this project, which would be developed by Ocean Power Technologies.
April Meeting Minutes
View April’s minutes here.
WaveConnect update
Folks can either comment on the DPLA directly to PG&E through the WaveConnect email account listed online (waveconnect@pge.com) or they can file comments with FERC. To file a comment with FERC they can go to the eComment page of the FERC website:http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp, click on the green eComment link and follow the instructions to submit a comment. They will need the Humboldt WaveConnect DPLA filing Docket Number: P-12779-005.
As far as the latest project summary, see the Fact Sheet in the February Public meeting materials on the WaveConnect Website: http://www.pge.com/includes/docs/pdfs/shared/environment/pge/waveconnect/humboldt_waveconnect_public_meeting_fact_sheet.pdf
Of course, things are changing rapidly on the project so best to bookmark the WaveConnect Website and keep up with the conversation through meeting information posted there.
Yo, water energy junkies!
Dept. of Energy: Potential Effects of Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy report released.
WaveConnect update
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has formally noticed PG&E’s filing of the Draft Pilot License Application (DPLA) and Notice of Intent to file a Final Pilot License Application for the Humboldt WaveConnect Pilot Project. This notice can be found on the FERC website at the following link: http://elibrary.FERC.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20100303-3011.
T-S My Word on PG&E’s WaveConnect
Here. And below. (Remember, Humboldt Surfrider has two folks participating in the PG&E stakeholder group: the very competent Bill Lydgate and similarly smart Scott Willits!)
Wave modeling
Via Bill Lydgate, Humboldt Surfrider’s WaveConnect stakeholder (along with Scott Willits):
HWCP_Appendix_5.3.2_Wave_Modeling
This wave modeling study will be included in the FERC pilot license application due to be filed at the end of this month. The wave modeling study may now be distributed as a draft/review copy. The study will probably be revised once the project location is finalized and the wave energy conversion devices are selected. The comments section on the Surfrider blog may be a good way for community members to comment on the study. I also have a few hard copies if anyone wants to review a paper copy.
February Meeting Minutes
View February’s minutes here.