A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 20, 2007
2. Supply –
PG&E backs new study of bay's tidal power -
San Francisco Chronicle
Big city strives to dunk wave project
IID declares water shortage -
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PG&E backs new study of bay's tidal power
San Francisco Chronicle – 6/20/07
By Cecilia M. Vega, Staff Writer
In September, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom held a news conference on the shores of the
On Tuesday, Newsom stood at the same Crissy Field location in front of the same backdrop and announced another study on how to harness the tides in the bay to create power.
It's the third city-backed study on tidal power in two years.
Only this study, paid for mainly by Pacific Gas and Electric Co., will be "the most comprehensive study yet," promised a press release distributed at the event.
"This is not science fiction," Newsom said Tuesday of the possibility of generating power from the bay tides.
"It's real. It's not science fiction," Newsom said at the press conference in September.
Newsom's administration is hoping that taking the unusual step of placing turbines below the bridge could eventually decrease the city's dependency on oil and one day turn
But the process has been slow going. In addition to the multiple studies, city leaders say are necessary to move forward, obtaining approval from the long list of state and federal regulatory agencies is expected to be a lengthy and complicated process. And the question of who would get to own the power remains unanswered.
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PG&E officials committed $1.5 million for research that will begin this summer and will examine the bay's energy potential, existing and emerging technologies to capture energy from tidal flows, environmental impacts of submerging turbines below the water and the associated costs. If the study shows tidal power would be effective, a project could be three to five years away, utility company officials said.
A $150,000 study commissioned in September by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission on tidal power is still under way and is expected to be complete by the end of the year. That analysis, however, will have "questions that need further study and more investigation," commission spokesman Tony Winnicker.
City officials are hoping the more expensive, elaborate study paid for by PG&E will answer those questions.
Yet another study released in May 2006 by the Electric Power Research Institute found that the tides beneath the Golden Gate Bridge are one of the best locations on the western coast of North America to generate power. But city officials say that research was too broad and failed to answer specific questions about how tidal power would work.
Submerging turbines below the bridge could capture tidal energy from the power flow that circulates in and out of the mouth of the
The idea was introduced by former San Francisco Supervisor Matt Gonzalez, who narrowly lost to Newsom in the 2003 mayor's race. The city's progressive community has charged that Newsom has hijacked the issue of tidal power and tried to make it his own.
Newsom, who was a supervisor on the board when Gonzalez introduced the idea, laughed off the assertion Tuesday.
"Then I should just give up," the mayor said sarcastically. "There was a hearing at the board, and all of us were present to hear the idea and to hear from experts."
Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, a Green Party member who worked on Gonzalez' campaign, introduced legislation Tuesday that said the city should continue to pursue developing tidal power technology and that it should be publicly owned if such an advancement is ever made.
Mirkarimi said the agreement signed between the city and PG&E to move ahead with another study was "alarming" and "sends a strong message that (PG&E is) trying to hijack what should be a city-owned resource." The supervisor expressed frustration that he only learned of the agreement after the mayor's news conference.
Tidal power is not the only clean-energy option city leaders are interested in. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a measure that puts the city one step closer to generating its own electricity from such sources as the wind, sun and fuel cells. The legislation directs the city utilities commission to seek proposals on how much such a plan would cost ratepayers. #
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/20/BAGDGQIBCS1.DTL
Big city strives to dunk wave project
John Driscoll/The Times-Standard
The city and
Attorneys for the big city to the south wrote to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Friday saying the agency should not approve the preliminary permit until it sets policy for emerging new wave and tidal power technology.
”While specifically not referring to this application,” the filing reads, “San Francisco believes the risk of sparking a 'gold rush' by ill-prepared applicants with ill-conceived projects is too high and the drain on commission resources in reviewing such applications would be too great.”
A preliminary permit would give PG&E the exclusive right to study an area off
In its own filing Tuesday, PG&E claims
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PG&E filed to exclusively use a 136-square-mile area off
However, the pair did not file their application for a preliminary permit until the day after PG&E did, which keeps them out of the running for the time being.
FERC fielded 40 applications for similar preliminary permits in 2006. In testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on June 7, FERC Director J. Mark Robinson said the commission is processing the permits with a view toward limiting the boundaries of the permits.
At the same time, it is trying to come to a decision on whether wave and tidal power applications should just go through the regular hydropower permitting process, or whether to deny any preliminary permits.
PG&E Project Development Manager Greg Lamberg said in an interview Tuesday that a preliminary permit is critical for protecting the company from risk. It's considering sinking $3 million or more into studies necessary to develop the project.
”We're talking about significant funds,” Lamberg said.
PG&E expects to begin holding public meetings on the project this fall, Lamberg said.
Strangely, while butting heads on this particular matter, PG&E and the city of San Francisco and Golden Gate Energy announced Tuesday that they are teaming up to explore opportunities for tidal power in San Francisco Bay. The trio will study the possibilities for a tidal power system. They have a preliminary permit from FERC to do that.#
http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_6185032
IID declares water shortage
By Darren Simon, staff writer
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With a growing demand and limited supplies, the Imperial Irrigation District board on Tuesday declared there simply isn’t enough water to go around — at least through 2008.
By a unanimous vote the board said there is an imbalance in water supplies and in doing so took the first step toward initiating an unprecedented local water rationing program, albeit no one with the district has used the word rationing.
Instead, terms like water apportionment, water budgeting, water allocation and equitable distribution were the terms used Tuesday to describe what will be a change in the way the district manages water.
“During its June 12 regular meeting, this board heard from staff regarding the conditions that would be necessary to trigger a supply/demand imbalance declaration within the IID service area,” IID General Manager Charles Hosken said.
“Today we are asking you to make such a declaration …” Hosken said.
The declaration sets the stage for district staff to develop a specific plan for rationing water not only to agricultural users, but also to cities and industrial users.
Any such plan would go into effect likely Jan. 1 and would be meant to last a year. After a year, the board would have to revisit the issue and vote again if it deems it necessary to continue the program.
The board and public both spoke to the water rationing program in comments that point to controversies to come as the water rationing program is implemented.
The methodology for any water rationing program calls on each acre of land to receive an equal portion of water — at least within the farming community.
Methodology would also have to be developed for providing water to cities and industrial users.
Hosken said it’s a necessary step as IID, which for decades had prided itself on having ample water to meet industrial needs, now faces a challenging period where water supplies are limited.
“Times have changed,” Hosken said.
He added with new geothermal companies looking to locate in the Valley and other industrial water users, the district has to find a way to meet their need without cutting in to farmer needs.
“We have to get ahead of that,” Hosken said, “Right now we are not.”
Some were critical of the steps the board was taking.
Local resident Benny Andres, who has been outspoken on water issues, said the program the board is considering would allocate water to the canal headgates.
Some have raised concerns that allocating water equates to handing over the district’s water rights, which it holds in trust, to farmers.
“Call it what you like, but that’s what it is — allocating to the gates,” Andres said.
He added: “There will be a political price to pay for unwise decisions.”
Director James Hanks said that may be the case, but the district has to take some action in light of the fact the district is going into its second year of using more than its share of Colorado River water.
“I think we need to make a move now before there is a shortage on the river,” he said.
“It may be politically incorrect; there may be consequences,” but the board has to take action, he added.#
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2007/06/20/news/news02.txt
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