PG&E Sees Power In California North Coast Waves (Glenda Anderson)

Utility seeks approval to test Northern California waters as potential source of renewable energy

By Glenda Anderson -- The Santa Rosa Press Democrat

March 9, 2007 -- The choppy waters off the coasts of Fort Bragg and Eureka are about to become a testing ground for harnessing wave energy under a new proposal by PG&E.

The energy generated from the ocean could someday give the North Coast a new identity as the hub of a renewable resource, even as its timber and fishing industries continue to decline.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. on Tuesday asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for approval to test the ocean's energy-generating potential in an area of about 200 square miles off the Mendocino and Humboldt county coasts.

"We believe we have a responsibility to investigate every source of renewable energy for our customers," said Greg Lamberg, manager of project development for PG&E.

The company's move comes at a time when high oil prices and pressures to reduce greenhouse gases have spurred big corporations to join small, green-minded entrepreneurs in seeking clean, renewable energy sources around the world.

Other commercial power companies, such as General Electric, Norway's Norsk Hydro and the German power giant Eon, have pledged money for similar projects.

A number of devices have been developed to capture wave energy. Some look like corks bobbing in the water. One is the shape of a snake and the size of a passenger train.

If PG&E's permits are approved, it will still take about five years before the company actually begins testing, Lamberg said.

Wave generators already are being tested near the shores of New Jersey, Hawaii, Scotland, England and Australia. But they generate only about 4megawatts of power worldwide, Lamberg said.

"This is a very nascent technology," he said.

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