{"id":1154,"date":"2009-05-06T15:35:04","date_gmt":"2009-05-06T23:35:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/?p=1154"},"modified":"2009-05-06T15:35:04","modified_gmt":"2009-05-06T23:35:04","slug":"california-not-catching-the-waveyet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2009\/05\/06\/california-not-catching-the-waveyet\/","title":{"rendered":"California Not Catching the Wave…Yet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tom Banse’s radio report <\/a>on West Coast wave energy aired Thursday morning on The California Report. It’s also posted to the Climate Watch Radio section on this site.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

A Crib Sheet for West Coast Ocean Energy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every now and then when the government gets something right, it\u2019s only fair to give credit.\u00a0 So today we give props to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission<\/a> for making public records easily accessible.\u00a0 Combined with our handy-dandy crib sheet, you can be the reporter and dig up all sorts of newsworthy nuggets.\u00a0 We\u2019ll get to some examples, but first the overview:<\/p>\n

\n

\"Wave
Wave energy buoys proposed for Reedsport, OR (artist's conception). Image provided by: Ocean Power Technologies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Starting in 2006, there was a \u201cgold rush\u201d on the ocean to stake claims for wave energy sites.\u00a0 Now the spray is settling and an industry shakeout is occurring.\u00a0 Energy developers have given up on about a third of the wave power projects they proposed along the West Coast.\u00a0 Some tidal power proposals are ebbing away as well.\u00a0 When things go sideways, we rarely get a press release about it.\u00a0 Often the news pops up first in a filing to FERC.<\/p>\n

\n

\n

FERC is the agency that oversees wave and tidal power projects in state waters (up to 3 miles offshore).\u00a0 The agency\u2019s webmasters set up an \u201ceLibrary\u201d<\/a> to archive project applications and correspondence.<\/p>\n

You can see on the crib sheet that FERC dismissed three ocean energy projects in California waters last month.\u00a0 The simple explanation is that the three projects ended up on the wrong side of a bureaucratic turf battle.\u00a0 The Department of Interior\u2019s Minerals Management Service<\/a> (MMS<\/a>) won jurisdiction over all energy development on the outer continental shelf, defined in this case as more than three miles offshore.\u00a0 Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Company president Burt Hamner explained in an e-mail:<\/p>\n

\n

FERC has cancelled its entire preliminary permit process for projects located on Federal ocean waters, and thus dismissed our seven pending applications for preliminary permits (as well as those of a few others).\u00a0 The new MMS framework says that applicants for wave projects must first get a MMS lease for space, then apply to FERC for a commercial hydropower license.\u00a0 But, MMS is prohibited from issuing leases in national marine sanctuaries.\u00a0 Two of our projects, San Francisco and Hawaii, are in sanctuaries.\u00a0 Therefore these are terminated because there is no way to get a lease or permits there.<\/p>\n

\n

At the City of San Francisco, utility specialist Randall Smith said the FERC dismissal of the city\u2019s preliminary permit for the Oceanside project \u201cdoesn\u2019t put us back to square one, but does force a step back.\u201d\u00a0 Smith elaborated, \u201cThe difference with MMS is getting a lease.\u00a0 That\u2019s a little more protracted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"One
A wave power project proposed for waters off San Francisco's Ocean Beach (upper right) is in limbo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The voluminous dockets for PG&E\u2019s WaveConnect projects<\/a> off Humboldt and Mendocino Counties, and the Green Wave Mendocino Wave Park suggest those are the ones moving ahead the fastest.\u00a0 PG&E recently secured $6 million to pay for environmental studies, design work, and permitting.\u00a0 The utility started its community outreach by scheduling two town meetings–in Eureka on May 19 and Ft. Bragg on May 21–both scheduled for 6 pm.<\/p>\n

And now, the secret code: An easy way to keep tabs on a marine energy project is to make note of the applicant\u2019s docket number (the one that starts with P-xxxxx) and then periodically plug that number into a \u201cDocket search<\/a>.”\u00a0 (Click on \u201cSubmit\u201d rather than the more prominent \u201cSearch Consolidated Dockets\u201d button.)Here are all of the West Coast wave energy projects proposed to FERC, listed from north to south, as of this week:<\/p>\n

\n

P-12751 Makah Bay (Finavera)\u00a0 license surrendered\u00a0 4\/09<\/strong><\/p>\n

P-13058 Grays Harbor Ocean Energy (Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Company)\u00a0 11\/2007<\/p>\n

P-13047 Oregon Coastal Wave Energy (Tillamook Intergovernmental Dev. Entity) 10\/2007<\/p>\n

P-12750 Newport OPT Wave Park (Ocean Power Technologies)\u00a0 permit surrendered 3\/09<\/strong><\/p>\n

P-12793 Florence Oregon Ocean Wave Project (Oceanlinx)\u00a0 4\/2007, withdrawn<\/strong> 4\/08<\/strong><\/p>\n

P-12713 Reedsport OPT Wave Park (Ocean Power Technologies)\u00a0 3\/2006<\/p>\n

P-12743 Douglas County Wave Energy (Douglas County, OR)\u00a0 9\/2006\u00a0 (oscillating column device on Umpqua River jetty)<\/p>\n

P-12749 Coos Bay OPT Wave Park (Ocean Power Technologies)\u00a0 3\/2006<\/p>\n

P-12752 Coos County Offshore (Bandon, Oregon) (Finavera) permit cancelled w\/o objection 6\/08<\/strong><\/p>\n

P-12779 Humboldt County WaveConnect (PG&E)\u00a0 2\/07<\/p>\n

P-12753 Humboldt County Wave Energy (Finavera) permit surrendered 2\/09<\/strong><\/p>\n

P-13075 Centerville OPT Wave Park (Ocean Power Technologies)\u00a0 11\/2007<\/p>\n

P-12781 Mendocino County WaveConnect (PG&E)\u00a0 2\/07<\/p>\n

P-13053 Green Wave Mendocino Wave Park (Green Wave Energy Solutions, LLC)\u00a0 10\/07<\/p>\n

P-13377 and P-13378 Fort Ross Project- N & S (Sonoma County Water Agency)\u00a0 2\/09 pending<\/p>\n

P-13376 Del Mar Landing Project (Sonoma County Water Agency)\u00a0 2\/09 pending<\/p>\n

P-13308 San Francisco Ocean Energy Project (Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Company, LLC)\u00a0 10\/08 Dismissed 4\/09<\/strong><\/p>\n

P-13379 San Francisco Oceanside Wave Energy Project (City and County of SF)\u00a0 filed 02\/09 Dismissed 4\/09<\/strong><\/p>\n

P-13052 Green Wave San Luis Obispo Wave Park (Green Wave Energy Solutions, LLC) filed 10\/07 pending<\/p>\n

P-13309 Ventura Ocean Energy Project (Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Company)\u00a0 10\/08 Dismissed 4\/09<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Total proposed wave energy projects since 2006: 21<\/p>\n

Total projects scrubbed by developer: 5<\/p>\n

Total projects rejected by FERC: 3<\/p>\n

\n

For extra credit \u2013 Noteworthy tidal energy projects:<\/p>\n

P-12585 San Francisco Bay Tidal Energy Project (Oceana Energy)\u00a0 10\/08<\/p>\n

P-12672 Columbia River Tidal Energy Project (Oceana Energy) Permit surrendered 3\/08<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wave power proponents say the US could eventually generate 5% of its electric power from the motion of the ocean. But for now, wave and tidal power are still California dreamin’.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11417,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[131,223,401,425,435,442,596,665],"coauthors":[],"series":[],"affiliates":[],"programs":[],"collections":[],"interests":[],"class_list":["post-1154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-government-business","category-power","tag-coastal","tag-fisheries","tag-oceans","tag-pge","tag-policy","tag-power","tag-tidal","tag-wave"],"acf":{"template_type":"standard","featured_image_type":"standard","is_audio_post":false},"yoast_head":"\nCalifornia Not Catching the Wave...Yet | Climate Watch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2009\/05\/06\/california-not-catching-the-waveyet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"California Not Catching the Wave...Yet | Climate Watch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Wave power proponents say the US could eventually generate 5% of its electric power from the motion of the ocean. 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