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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

PG&E WaveConnect Program (Final Report)

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1032845· OSTI ID:1032845

The PG&E WaveConnect project was intended to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of wave power in the open ocean adjacent to PG&E's service territory. WaveConnect was conceived as a multi-stage development process leading to long-term megawatt-scale wave power production. The first-stage tasks consisted of site selection, permitting, pilot plant design, and assessment of technology and commercial readiness. The second stage would have included development of infrastructure, undersea cabling, and deployment of wave energy conversion devices (WECs). In the third stage, the most promising WEC devices would have been deployed in larger quantities and connected to the grid. This report documents the findings of Stage One. Site Selection: After studying the wave energy potential, grid interconnection and other project infrastructure along the California coast, PG&E selected two sites: one near Eureka, called the Humboldt WaveConnect (HWC) project, and another near Vandenberg Air Force Base, called the Central Coast WaveConnect project (CCWC).

Research Organization:
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Oakland, California (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
FG36-08GO18170
OSTI ID:
1032845
Report Number(s):
DOE/GO--18170-1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English