Is there enough ocean energy potential to be worthwhile for California?
All renewable energy sources, combined, supply only 12 percent of the state’s power. For northern CA, the yearly average incident wave power density has been estimated at around 26 MW/kilometer. A 1991 study by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. estimated that the swells off Northern California potentially could generate up to 10,500 megawatts of electricity, enough to supply more than 20 percent of the state’s current annual power demand. This is despite the estimate that only 20 percent of the available energy in the waves actually could be harvested because of technological and environmental constraints. The available energy may be underestimated. A CEC study will re-evaluate that estimate and re-calculate how much electricity could be produced along the state’s 1,100-mile coastline (see question on government funding below).
