Richard EngelCalifornia is just now launching the first round of funding opportunities under its new Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) program, which will support research, development and demonstration (RD&D) for promising new energy technologies. Meanwhile, the State has already begun planning for the next round of EPIC funding, to become available starting in 2015. The California Energy Commission (CEC) recently released a draft 2015-17 Triennial Investment Plan and solicited public comments on funding priorities for this second round. SERC provided input on two important fields, forest biomass energy and offshore power, including wind and wave technologies.
Our letter on offshore energy points out how these untapped resources offer great potential for California’s renewable energy portfolio. However, we note that California is at risk of falling behind on developing offshore wind and wave technologies. We also make the case that California’s north coast is especially ripe for RD&D and eventual commercial development of coastal energy.
Many rural northern California communities generate substantial volumes of biomass residue in their forestry sectors, and these resources offer significant biomass energy development opportunities. The EPIC program has a substantial focus on biomass energy funding initiatives. SERC voiced general support for these initiatives, with an emphasis on field deployable densification technologies, such as torrefaction, and efficient energy conversion technologies, such as gasification. These technologies are critical to the economic viability of biomass energy development.
Visit the CEC’s EPIC page to view comments from SERC on biomass and offshore energy.
