Bi-Partisan Support for Tidal and Wave Energy Bill

Senate Bill 605, authored by Senator Steve Padilla (D-Chula Vista), would specifically require the Energy Commission and the Ocean Protection Council to commence a comprehensive, collaborative study to evaluate the feasibility and benefits of using wave energy and tidal energy sometime before February 2024. In addition, SB 605 would have both the Energy Commission and the Council to submit a written report to the Governor and the Legislature on findings from the study and similar pilot projects by January 2025. The Commission would be required to begin receiving and consider approving applications wave and tidal energy pilot projects.

Overall, the bill created benchmarks to see if the energy production is feasible, what the estimates are, and then bringing in applications and possible construction for the plants in the latter half of the 2020’s.

Senator Padilla wrote the bill to bring online new forms of renewable energy to California, and to meet the state’s renewable energy goals, which includes reaching 60% renewable by 2030 and being 100% renewable by 2045. With California only being at 33.6% renewable energy as of the end of 2021, largely only looking at wind and solar as options, and Diablo Canyon, the last remaining nuclear plant in the state, expecting to only last until sometime in the 2030’s despite generating around 9% of the energy for the entire state, new renewable forms of energy were needed. With wave and tidal energy getting both Democratic and Republican support in recent years, and many lawmakers visiting existing pilot programs on the coast in Los Angeles, tidal and wave energy, has been seen as the best option by many.

“We need to continue to innovate the policies, technologies, and financing of new clean, renewable energy sources for our state if we hope to achieve our ambitious goals for clean air and a climate-resilient economy,” said Terry Tamminen, President and CEO of AltaSea, which runs a pilot energy program at the Port of Los Angeles, and former environmental policy advisor to then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, earlier this year. “This important measure would set California on the path towards becoming a global leader in ocean energy and developing this untapped source of clean, resilient, abundant, and renewable energy.”

Throughout April and May, SB 605 managed to pass three Senate Committees unanimously, including the often divisive Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee 15-0 with only three abstentions. In a full Senate vote in late May, SB 605 continued to astound observers, passing 40-0 and becoming one of the least divisive bills of the session so far. Since then, the bill has only garnered more support from both parties. Lawmakers from the most liberal Democrat to the most Conservative Republican have found something to like in the bill, such as the clean energy aspects or the massive new opportunity for energy companies to have a large new stream of revenue to come in.

Support for SB 605

“I’m extremely pleased that California is moving fast to implement this historic legislation that will bring wave energy to California,” said Founder and CEO of Eco Wave Power Inna Braverman this week. “Wave energy is the largest untapped source of clean energy, and its widespread implementation in California will have a large positive impact – both environmentally and economically, as it will create a steady stream of clean jobs through manufacturing, transportation, construction, engineering, and other areas.”

Experts told the Globe on Tuesday that with growing support amongst members of the Assembly, SB 605 could become the rare bill to garner a 100% yea vote on the bill in the full Assembly later this year, with the upcoming Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee likely to continue the unanimous streak soon as well.

“There have been some concerns on this one, like any bill, but SB 605 has been especially attractive,” said “Dana,” a Capitol staffer to the Globe on Tuesday. “It’s a clean energy, it’s largely uncontroversial, it’s mostly untapped in the state, it can help meet growing energy demands, and it is a potentially huge profit-maker for energy companies. There’s some concern about the environment and spoiling coastline views, but when all we’re talking about right now is a study, which will bring up those concerns and more for a full picture, there is also zero-real risk in looking into the feasibility of it. And, as another sweetener, no real political worries about it back home for the Senators and Assemblymembers. It’s something they can say they voted for to help find solutions, and opponents would have no real argument against it.”

“For those in Sacramento looking for bipartisan bills that everyone can agree on, SB 605 is one of the few that fit that description.”

SB 605 is expected to be voted on soon in the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee.