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UPDATE JUNE 2009:
Under the new rules for
offshore energy development, the Minerals Management Service is the
lead agency for applications. But MMS is prohibited from
issuing leases in marine sanctuaries. The Company's proposed
site is in the Sanctuary off San Francisco. No leases can be
issued there so there will be no project unless the Sanctuary
managers decide to allow it and develop their own regulatory system,
which seems unlikely.
California has only two
areas offshore that meet the Company's criteria for suitable
offshore wind/wave energy development: Between San Francisco
and the Farallon Islands, and between Ventura and the Channel
Islands. The rest of the coast is quite deep near shore and
turbines that could be installed would be very visible and prominent
from shore. A Stanford University
study has concluded that
"Between 63% and 86% of CA's electricity needs could be provided
with offshore wind energy alone."
The
San Francisco site is the only place with suitable area that is not
in a designated shipping lane into San Francisco Bay. The site
is also within the
Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. The
Sanctuary rules currently prohibit any structures fixed to the
seabed. However the rules could be amended to allow clean
energy generation that emits no pollution and does not significantly
affect marine life. The Company does not assume this will
happen and recognizes that a long and complex discussion will be
needed to advance this proposal.
San Francisco
P-13308 (click to download FERC application)
UPDATE April 9, 2009:
FERC and MMS
agree to rule
changes that suspend the FERC preliminary permit system for OCS wave
power projects. The Company permit applications have been
dismissed. No project is possible at this San Francisco site
because leases are prohibited by the Sanctuary rules.
Site
Coordinates
-
NW 37° 54’
N 122° 59’ W
-
NE 07° 47’
N 122° 42’ W
-
SW 37° 49’
N 122° 59’ W
-
SE 37° 42’
N 122° 47’ W
The
California Energy Commission has been evaluating ocean energy
and in Sept 2008 gave a public
presentation (pdf download) about its findings.
Stanford University professors have published a study about
offshore wind potential in California -
presentation and
paper
The
Electric Power Research Institute has published several reports
on wave energy development for San Francisco on the
Wave Energy section of their site:
-
System-Level Design, Performance, and
Cost – San Francisco California Energetech Offshore Wave Power
Plant
-
System-Level Design, Performance, and
Cost – San Francisco California Pelamis Offshore Wave Power
Plant
-
California Wave Power Demonstration
Project: Bridging the Gap Between the Completed Phase 1 Project
Definition Study and the Next Phase – Phase 2 Detailed Design
and Permitting
The governor of California is party to the
West Coast
Governors' Agreement on Ocean Health. This action plan
specifically and cautiously addresses ocean renewable energy
development. Presentations about ocean energy development on
the West Coast are
available. |
