Senate Bill 605 (SB 605, Padilla, Chapter 405, Statutes of 2023) directs the California Energy Commission to evaluate the feasibility, costs, and benefits of using wave energy and tidal energy as forms of clean, renewable energy for California. This work is to be done in coordination and consultation with the California Coastal Commission, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Ocean Protection Council, and the State Lands Commission. Additional outreach on this work includes other state and local agencies, California Native American tribes, the offshore wave energy and tidal energy industry, the commercial and recreational fishing communities, nongovernmental organizations, and other stakeholders.
The evaluation of feasibility, costs, and benefits were discussed in a report published in November 2024 and summarized in the draft 2024 Integrated Energy Policy Report Update (IEPR Update), published in December 2024. This second draft report analyzes suitable sea space for deploying wave and tidal energy projects in state and federal waters. In identifying suitable sea space, this report considers existing data and information of wave and tidal energy resource potential and commercial viability of current technologies, the protection of cultural and biological resources, monitoring and adaptive management techniques, and required transmission facilities and infrastructure.
Author(s)
Susan Lee, Vida Strong (Aspen Environmental Group); Dave Anning, Nicole Buecker, Chris Flanary, Grace Chang (Integral Consulting Inc.); Erica Escajeda, Sharon Kramer (H. T. Harvey & Associates); Danielle Mullany (California Energy Commission)
