The long-term PPA for 3,854MWh per year is to be fulfilled by a wave energy project to be developed by Finavera 2.5miles (4km) off the coast of Humboldt County, north California.
The power plant is to be commissioned in 2012 and is anticipated to offset 245 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
Finavera has just completed a funding round through a private placement. The company also recently deployed a wave energy converter, AquaBuOY 2.0, off the Oregon coast as part of tests for a 100MW cluster scheme to be installed nearby, for which it has received a preliminary permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
The company is also developing projects to use the AquaBuOY system in Portugal and South Africa. Recently, it was awarded an investigative permit by British Columbia for a possible cluster scheme at Vancouver Island.
PG&E is studying options to establish wave energy projects under the “WaveConnect” programme off the coast of Mendocino and Humboldt counties. In February, the utility filed permit applications for the projects with FERC.
