PG&E drops local wave power plans
By FRANK HARTZELL Staff Writer -
Updated: 05/14/2009 08:06:17 AM PDT
After four years of meetings and three years of controversy in Fort Bragg,
Pacific Gas and Electric Company has announced it will abandon its local
plans for an offshore wave energy power plant.
Instead, the utility will continue WaveConnect only off Eureka, having
claimed both areas with simultaneous Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
or FERC, permits in February 2007.
PG&E is hanging on to its exclusive claim on Fort Bragg waters for now, but
does plan to release that claim later.
The preliminary permit, which legally resembles a mining claim, is good
through February 2010. Other corporations have expressed an interest in the
claim.
In Sonoma County, the government itself claimed areas off its coast, on
behalf of residents. Local governments have not taken any stance on this
issue yet.
Monday, the utility told a Fort Bragg City Council subcommittee the decision
was based on engineering analysis that determined that Noyo Harbor is
inadequate to support a wave energy pilot project.
"SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation) surveyed the harbor
in early April, spoke with the harbormaster and Coast Guard. Their
conclusion was that the harbor is too narrow and shallow and lacks adequate
room for maneuvering barges for equipment," according to statements made by
PG&E representatives, recorded in subcommittee meeting notes from this week
provided by Fort Bragg City Manager Linda Ruffing.
Locals told the utility exactly that back in 2006, when city councilmen Dan
Gjerde and Dave Turner described the problems in detail and suggested PG&E
might help improve the harbor as part of the process.
"In response to a question of why it took so long to reach this conclusion
when it seemed apparent to a lot of folks early on, [local project manager
Bill] Toman explained that PG&E has pursued this study in an integrated
fashion. They didn't get funding from CPUC [California Public Utilities
Commission] until the end of January 2009, then they hired a consultant team
and moved quickly forward. The initial Noyo Harbor site visit was in early
April," Ruffing's notes state.
PG&E, paired with an earlier consultant, actually held a meeting in Noyo
Harbor in 2006, with selected members of the Fort Bragg community, which did
not include the city or the newspaper.
Toman never mentioned to the group substantial local opposition to the
process used by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which granted
exclusive preliminary permits. Local fishers, environmentalists and public
agencies have teamed up to reform the process and express concerns about
environmental issues.
The City of Fort Bragg and Mendocino County, denied official status in the
project by FERC, threatened lawsuits and filed lengthy federal appeals, with
the county winning intervener status in the end.
There has been much less attention and participation in Eureka, according to
those active in both places.
A substantial number of locals have come to oppose all wave energy over the
last three years. Most, however, were frustrated by PG&E communications and
FERC's overall process.
The Obama Administration ended a long-standing feud between the federal
Minerals Management Service and FERC, giving FERC domain over wave energy
inside three miles and creating a collaborative process in federal waters
(more than three miles from shore).
Although FERC has a new direction under President Obama, there have been
indications that the independent federal agency still isn't talking to
state, much less local, government.
At a meeting in San Francisco run by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last
month, Peter Douglas, head of the California Coastal Commission, praised the
working relationship with Interior but said, "We still hope to develop a
relationship with FERC."
The City of Fort Bragg and local fishermen were caught by surprise when PG&E
got its permit, thinking they would have been included beforehand. The City
Council once became frustrated when PG&E representatives came to a city
meeting to update the city with no new information. Gjerde said he didn't
want any more updates unless there was actual new information provided. PG&E
has not utilitized the normal press release process locally, instead
providing oral reports to different groups which often resulted in
confusion.
Drawbacks detailed
PG&E did something this week they have been criticized for not doing
throughout the four-year local process; provide extensive details.
"The wood docks and piers are not reinforced. There is no existing heavy
lift capable of lifting 100-ton equipment. They would need approximately 50
acres of land onshore to support the operations. Noyo Harbor cannot support
the testing of equipment," Ruffing's notes said.
"Humboldt Bay has a bigger harbor, more industrial uses and support
facilities. PG&E has four power plants in the Eureka area (one is under
construction, three will be decommissioned)," Ruffing's' notes said.
The Humboldt project too has been downsized from big expectations of 2006.
The Humboldt WaveConnect project will take place on 200 acres of the 128
square miles claimed there. The utility has now decided to pursue a small,
5-year pilot project there, fully inside state waters.
"In the Humboldt WaveConnect project, PG&E is pursuing permits for a 5
megawatt facility. In March 2010, they will file a draft license application
with FERC for a pilot license," Ruffing's notes said.
PG&E has garnered substantial grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and
the California Public Utilities Commission for WaveConnect. Now that half
the project is gone and the Humboldt portion downsized, it is unclear what
the grant money will be used for.
"PG&E has $6 million in funding to pursue the WaveConnect project. It needs
to be spent in support of the wave energy project study, permitting and
outreach. Toman indicated that their short-term focus will be on the
Humboldt project and that PG&E will eventually surrender their preliminary
permit for the Mendocino WaveConnect project," Ruffing wrote.
In the California Public Utilities Commission proceedings, the Department of
Ratepayer Advocate said wave energy was too nascent a technology for
ratepayer funding. The grant money would end up enriching consultants, not
the energy future of the nation.
PG&E is also planning a new, thousand-mile-long power cable along the Oregon
coast that will extend into Northern California, where coastal power grids
have long been neglected, creating lengthy blackouts and angst against PG&E
by some.
Monday, Toman told the city group that PG&E has been contacted by Sonoma
County regarding a partnership for a Department of Energy grant for their
three wave energy applications.
"PG&E is the presumed interconnector utility for those projects. He
indicated that PG&E would like to cooperate with Sonoma County. They have
intervener status on the applications," Ruffing's notes said.
David Eisenhauer, spokesman for PG&E, said the meeting planned for Thursday,
May 21, 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Portuguese Hall in Fort Bragg will still be held,
despite the PG&E withdrawal.
Ruffing's notes describe how PG&E will unveil its wave energy study in
Humboldt County:
"Toman noted that the Humboldt WaveConnect project will test three to four
technologies. PG&E will hold a worldwide solicitation in the next couple of
months. This will involve first requesting information, then issuance of a
formal request for proposals. Once they have selected three or four tenants,
they will fine tune design of host facility. He noted that Finavera is no
longer in the wave energy business, but they continue to hold all rights to
their technology. Pelamis' (partners) are in bankruptcy. Ocean Power
Technology, OceanLinks and all of the Wave Hub tenants would be in the
running for a WaveConnect tenancy," Ruffing's notes said.
Humboldt State University will be a partner in the Humboldt WaveConnect
project.
"PG&E plans to use their faculty and staff, particularly marine biologists
and oceanographers, to perform studies and develop databases of information.
They have not negotiated contracts, but he estimated that they may be in the
$100K-$200K range," Ruffing's notes state.
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