December 16,2105-
An ambitious plan to erect a 1000 megawatt floating wind farm some 20 miles off the Central Coast near Morro Bay got a surprisingly good reception at a public meeting in this coastal community last week. At the end of the two hour session most in the audience of 100 people clapped.
Principals with the Seattle company, Trident Winds, proposing the renewable energy project said there were few environmental issues affecting the project although it is early in the game. President Alla Weinstein said it will take 5 to 7 years before it get up to 33 agency permits in place to move forward. What they feel are non-issues include not much impact on birds this far out to sea. Ms Weinstein remarking that “the sea birds seem to be smarter than land birds” on avoiding obvious hazards. Nor is there big concern,so far, from fishing interests after the Trident group promised to avoid popular fishing areas off the coast.Nor are there significant noise, vibration or viewscape issues they claim, although one member of the audience thought the lights from the 600-ft high turbines might be seen from shore even though they are 20 to 40 miles away and the 100 units are about a half mile apart.
The preferred site is to the north of Morro Bay – closer to Cambria
If the major hurdles are not environmental, making a deal to hook up to the grid appears to be the biggest obstacle to the project going forward. Consider the financing? Who is going to invest in Trident Winds if they cannot bring the offshore power to the California electric grid without building a whole new transmission line.
Key to the Trident plan is the desire to hook up to the existing PG&E substation that feeds the big transmission lines heading east of Morro Bay. But someone else has dibs on that privilege for now.
For now Houston-based Dynegy,whose mothball power plant is for sale, has the right to inject 650MW into the transmission lines there. But not forever. The matter is regulated by the state Independent System Operator(ISO).
“We want to be next in the ISO queue to interconnect “says Trident vp Eric Markell. He adds that If Dynegy or a successor, does not apply for new permits soon – their 36 month grace period with the ISO will expire unless they propose a new power use. The clock started ticking when the plant ceased making power, the city says that date is January 2013. So it will expire in January 2016 or if the date was 2014-it would be 2017,not very far off.
Markell remarked that Trident held a recent meeting with Dynegy some 3 weeks ago and they told him the idled power plant “was under contract” to be sold. After Markell told that to the crowd – Morro Bay City Manager David Buckingham told those assembled that as far as the city knows – that there was no contract to sell in place.
One thing for sure.The old power plant would be all liability without the right to use the connecting substation.So Dynegy is clearly under the gun to make an arrangement with somebody.
That somebody may be Trident.
Mr Markell explains that Dynegy is moving forward with the ISO on Houston company’s plan to utilize their right to inject power into the substation with their wave energy idea but that Trident hopes to work with Dynegy and “move into their shoes” using what he considers to be the more promising wind technology instead.”We expect the ISO may extend Dynegy’s right to use their priority standing longer than the 36 month period and we take that as good news. ”
Translation: Trident believes they can work cooperatively with Dynegy to be first in line to tap the PG&E substation.
For now, Morro Bay seems impressed with Trident’s openness, says Eric Endersby, the city harbor director. “Unlike some others we have seen they are not trying to do this behind closed doors.”
The next thing we might see is Trident make an official application to the key lead agency the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for a lease of the ocean floor.”We hope to have it filed by mid January “ says Markell.
Trident will also be watching discussion of a proposed new marine sanctuary off the Morro Bay coast and its impact, if any, on a wind energy farm if it would be adopted. NOAA staff are coming to Morro Bay on Wednesday, January 6, for an informational town hall meeting on the proposed marine sanctuary to be held at 6PM at the Veterans Hall in Morro Bay.
