Bill Text: CA SB605 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Wave and tidal energy.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-10-07 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 405, Statutes of 2023. [SB605 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB605-Introduced.html

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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 605

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Introduced by Senator Padilla

February 15, 2023

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An act relating to energy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 605, as introduced, Padilla. Wave and tidal energy.

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to undertake various actions in furtherance of meeting the state’s clean energy and pollution reduction objectives, including actions related to energy infrastructure.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation relating to the commission and wave and tidal energy, as specified.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 (a) For purposes of this section, “Energy Commission” means the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation to do all of the following:

(1) Require a study of the ocean’s wave energy potential in the state, which would further provide for the state’s clean energy plans, including the joint report issued pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 454.53 of the Public Utilities Code, and goals to be updated to incorporate new goals related to the generation of wave and tidal energy, which are both forms of clean energy that are derived from untapped and inexhaustible ocean resources.

(2) (A) Require the Energy Commission, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and other appropriate governmental agencies, within 30 days after this act’s effective date, to commence a comprehensive, collaborative study to evaluate the feasibility and benefits of using wave and tidal energy as forms of clean energy in the state.

(B) Require the Energy Commission and the Department of Fish and Wildlife, in conducting the study, to do both of the following:

(i) Evaluate various factors related to the increased use of wave and tidal energy in the state.

(ii) Authorize individuals and entities to engage in pilot wave and tidal energy projects in the state.

(3) Require the Chair of the Energy Commission and the Director of Fish and Wildlife, not more than 12 months after this act’s effective date, to cooperatively prepare and submit a written report to the Governor and the Legislature that identifies the findings from the wave and tidal energy study described in paragraph (2) and provides recommendations for legislative, executive, and other actions that can be taken to facilitate, encourage, and promote the development and increased use of wave and tidal energy technologies, infrastructure, and facilities in the state. Among other things, the report would be required to include a strategic plan for the deployment of wave and tidal energy technologies, infrastructure, and facilities in the state, which would identify, at minimum, specific wave energy generation goals, tidal energy generation goals, or both, in megawatts, that the state should endeavor to meet by 2030, 2040, and 2050, in order to ensure the timely and effective deployment of wave and tidal energy technologies and the sufficient incorporation of wave and tidal energy into the state’s energy portfolio.

(4) Require the Energy Commission, in its next edition of the joint report issued pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 454.53 of the Public Utilities Code following this act’s effective date, to incorporate into the report information regarding the wave and tidal energy strategic plan described in paragraph (3) and, to the extent practical, the wave and tidal energy generation goals recommended by the strategic plan.

(5) Require the Energy Commission to solicit and approve applications for, and to take appropriate action to facilitate, the initiation of pilot wave and tidal energy projects in the state as part of the wave and tidal energy study described in paragraph (2), with data from the pilot projects to be included in the study and in the report described in paragraph (3).

(6) Require the Energy Commission, acting in accordance with the recommendations set forth in the report described in paragraph (3), to solicit and approve applications for, and to take other appropriate action to facilitate, through the use of financial or nonfinancial incentives, the continuation of pilot projects commenced under the study described in paragraph (2) and the initiation of new wave and tidal energy projects that will result in a positive net economic and environmental benefit to the state.

(7) Require the Energy Commission to take certain other affirmative agency actions to facilitate the development of the wave and tidal energy sectors in this state.

(8) Require the Energy Commission to coordinate with the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in the United States Department of the Interior to facilitate the leasing or permitting of offshore areas, under federal jurisdiction, for wave or tidal energy projects, and to coordinate with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and other permitting agencies to facilitate the leasing or permitting of coastal or onshore areas under state jurisdiction for that purpose.