With Pacific Gas & Electric having been issued last week a preliminary permit that gives exclusive right to study energy off the Mendocino Coast for three years, the newspaper asked William Toman, 52, project manager for WaveConnect, to tell us about himself and the vision for the project. His responses follow in question and answer format.
– What is your background and what interests you in this process?
Although I”m new with PG&E, I”ve worked my entire career in the electric utility industry both here and abroad. I”ve always had a fascination with the technical aspects of electricity and its generation, but my professional satisfaction stems strongly from the critical role that electric power plays in our lives. At the same time, I grew up steeped in the culture of conservation, stewardship and environmental awareness.
Ocean energy is one of the newest forms of emerging, carbon-free renewable energy that utilities and governments are evaluating. As a coastal California native, and one who was raised in a Navy family, I particularly wanted to be involved in harvesting marine renewable energy.
My ocean energy experience comes from work with marine renewable energy while at Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) in Washington, D.C. They were looking at how to perform environmental, prototype testing and wave energy device design from their experience of supporting the U.S. Navy at shipyards in Norfolk, Va., and Bremerton, Wash.
I”ve also been involved with several different kinds of land-based power plants. At Calpine, I led the development of two power plants in the Bay Area, one that is now operating and one that is just about to start construction. Both of these projects burn (or will burn) natural gas to produce electric power in a highly efficient, ultra clean manner.
In both instances, I worked closely with the host areas” city and county governments, environmental organizations, state agencies, land owners and the public to craft site location, overall design parameters and community benefits considerations. The result was the successful integration of needed, modern power facilities into the host communities. PG&E plans to follow a similar program in the development of the WaveConnect projects.
Prior to that work, I developed a much-needed thermal power facility in the country of Ghana in West Africa. It was the single largest private investment in that country and helped keep the lights on during a “200-year” drought that virtually eliminated the existing hydroelectric power supplies that Ghana depended on.
I hold a B.S. degree in engineering and an M.S. degree in nuclear engineering, both from UCLA and an M.S. degree in industrial administration from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Penn. Of course, the Mendocino WaveConnect ocean energy project will not have anything to do with nuclear energy, but could in fact reduce the need to build additional nuclear power plants in California.
– Were you with Calpine? What did you do for them?
I was a project development manager at Calpine from 1999 to 2002. I led the development and environmental permitting for the Wolfskill Energy Center (47 MW, operating) in Fairfield and the Russell City Energy Center (600 MW, ready to construct) in Hayward. Calpine is now out of bankruptcy protection and will continue to be a major supplier of cleanly produced electric power in California.
– What you have been tasked to do by PG&E?
PG&E has asked me to take the preliminary work that the company and its consultants have done in evaluating potential wave power sites in Northern California and put together a program that conducts detailed environmental studies of the proposed project area, gains the necessary regulatory agency approvals and then installs and operates a small number of wave energy conversion devices for testing and observation. A key input into forming this process will come from the community and other stakeholder groups during a series of meetings to be held long before any definitive plans are put in place.
– How does WaveConnect differ from other PG&E hydrokinetic efforts?
PG&E is pursuing two WaveConnect projects offshore of Mendocino and Humboldt counties. They will be used as a testing ground for determining which ones of the 80 or so different ocean energy technologies will be best suited to form a larger wave energy farm.
Another PG&E hydrokinetic project is the San Francisco Tidal Power Project, which is sponsored by a partnership between the City of San Francisco, a private development firm named Golden Gate Energy and PG&E. This project is investigating the potential of using undersea turbines to harvest the moving energy of tidal flows in the Golden Gate Straight and convert this into electricity for terrestrial consumption.
– How does the Wave Hub in England compare to WaveConnect?
WaveConnect will initially be similar to the Wave Hub project being built by a regional development agency offshore of Cornwall at the very southern tip of England. It”s purpose is to provide a common undersea electric transmission line to shore that wave energy device manufacturers can “plug into” several miles offshore. This sharing of common transmission facilities will allow for technology demonstration projects to be conducted at less cost and with a minimum of environmental impact.
– Does PG&E have some hydrokinetic efforts in rivers as well as the ocean?
No, not currently, but other developers are looking at “instream” flow hydrokinetic projects in the Mississippi River.
– How has the Fort Bragg and Mendocino Coast process been different than in Eureka, or others you are involved in?
Both of the Mendocino and Humboldt WaveConnect projects moved ahead in parallel with initial applications to the Federal Regulatory Commission (FERC) occurring at the same time. FERC recently issued preliminary permits to both WaveConnect projects. In both cases, PG&E looked at what places along the Northern California coast do strong waves exist that are also close to its power grid. Fort Bragg and the Eureka area were clear choices in this regard. As with land-based power plants, much environmental evaluation and community planning work is done to support obtaining the requisite permits and approvals from federal, state and local governments. This is why local stakeholder input is vital to the planning process as it allows for the best configuration, placement and operation of the project.
– What will the process look like from here on out?
The WaveConnect projects are to be funded by PG&E customer funds administered by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) through its Emerging Renewable Energy Program (ERRP). We are still waiting for a proposed decision by the commission as to how and when these funds will be disbursed. The total amount of funding will be $6 to $7 million for both projects. Until then, we are working on plans for environmental and feasibility studies as allowed by the FERC Preliminary Permit over the next year. We will coordinate with Mendocino County, the City of Fort Bragg and local stakeholder groups like Fishermen in Safe Hydrokinetics (FISH Committee) to hold public meetings to explain our plans and to receive comments about the project”s impact upon the community and upon everything associated with the ocean environment and its uses. You will not have to an “expert” to be heard.
– How can local businesses get involved in the process of bidding on contracts for work when it starts?
PG&E will have a process that allows local businesses to bid on contracts for the project in the same manner that PG&E solicits bids for contracts for its existing operations. We will locally publicize the timing for these solicitations and keep local governments informed.
– Will the local college or schools get any chance to be involved in paid studies?
We haven”t discussed this yet, but local colleges and schools could have a role for research and learning programs with the WaveConnect project.
– Will the power produced be used locally? Could local people or a municipality get cheaper power because power is produced locally?
The WaveConnect project is envisioned to produce a peak of 40 Megawatts (MW) of power. This is about 20 percent of the electricity currently consumed in Mendocino County. This means that all of the power generated will be consumed in the local area as electricity flows to the nearest loads from where it is generated. PG&E will still supply the electric power needs of the county, but the WaveConnect project”s contribution simply means that less will have to be imported from other areas.
The rates that PG&E customers pay in the future will not change as a result of the project. Because of the demonstration of technology nature of WaveConnect, it is anticipated to produce power at a higher cost than PG&E”s other sources, but these costs will be spread amongst all PG&E ratepayers. As the ocean energy matures, costs are expected to come down in a manner that wind-generated power costs have plummeted over the last 25 years.
– Will PG&E use wave energy funding as an occasion to also do needed undergrounds and other upgrades not related to ocean energy here?
There may be some minor modifications to the substation that the WaveConnect transmission cable will connect to, but it is not envisioned to provide for other improvements to the electricity distribution system.
– What tack will PG&E take as far as city-county-fish intervention?
We are working with them on this. We are supportive of public comment and input on the regulatory processes overseeing the WaveConnect project. In light of today”s action by FERC, it is probably a better use of their time to consider waiting for our next application to FERC. We have pledged to keep them informed of such events.
– What has happened with funding from the California Public Utilities Commission?
We are still waiting on the CPUC for Emerging Renewable Resource Program (ERRP) funding. We can”t predict the timing, but hopefully it will be by summer. We are not budgeted to do much on the project until then.
– What about the State Lands Commission, which has stated that it will need to be notified?
We will notify State Lands of the FERC permit and see what their response is. I will have more to tell you about our project plans in the next couple of weeks
– What”s PG&E”s next step?
We are still assessing our project plans. Not much can be done until the CPUC ERRP funding comes in. I plan to visit Fort Bragg and Eureka later this month to talk to stakeholders, but I don”t have any days yet.
