BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 306
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: gatto
VERSION: 6/14/11
Analysis by: Michelle Leinfelder
FISCAL:yes
Hearing date: June 28, 2011
SUBJECT:
Energy: piezoelectric transducers: study
DESCRIPTION:
This bill requires the California Energy Commission (CEC) to
conduct research on generating electricity using piezoelectric
technology under roadways and railways and, in collaboration
with the Department of Transportation (Caltrans), establish
pilot projects employing this technology.
ANALYSIS:
Caltrans is the state agency responsible for building,
maintaining, and operating the state highway system and the
state intercity rail system in order to provide for the safe and
efficient movement of people and goods throughout the state.
Existing law requires the CEC to assess electricity
infrastructure trends and issues facing California and to
develop and recommend energy policies for the state to address
and resolve such issues as part of its biennial Integrated
Energy Policy Report (IEPR). The IEPR covers three main
subjects: electricity and natural gas markets; transportation
fuels, technologies and infrastructure; and public interest
energy strategies.
Additionally, existing law directs funding to the CEC for the
Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program and the Energy
Resources Program Account (ERPA). About $70 million per year of
energy utilities ratepayer funds are directed to the CEC to
administer PIER. PIER funds are allocated according to general
statutory guidelines and a more specific CEC-developed
investment plan. Investments in research, development and
demonstration are permitted in energy technologies that provide
tangible benefits to the utility customers who fund the program.
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Collection of funds for these purposes currently is authorized
until 2012. ERPA funds are collected from a surcharge on
ratepayers in order to provide funding for administration of the
CEC.
This bill:
1. Requires the CEC to conduct research on generating
electricity using piezoelectric technology under roadways
and railways.
2. Requires the CEC to collaborate with Caltrans to
establish a pilot project or projects using this technology
if the CEC finds, based on initial research, that the
technology has the potential to generate electricity with
performance, reliability, and cost projections that are
comparable to existing renewable or emerging renewable
energy sources.
3. Requires the CEC to include in its 2013 IEPR, a report
on the findings of the research performed pursuant this
bill.
4. Authorizes the CEC, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, to use PIER or ERPA funds to conduct this
research and pilot projects.
COMMENTS:
1. Purpose . According to the author, the passage of AB 32
(Núñez, Pavley), Chapter 488,
Statutes of 2006, demonstrated California's dedication to
reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Piezoelectric energy-harvesting technology is a promising
technology that enables the
production of green electricity on roadways, helping to offset
greenhouse gas emissions
produced by traditional means of energy production and the
transportation sector. The
energy can be stored at the roadside and used to power roadside
lighting and call boxes, or it
could be distributed to the local grid. The technology can be
installed in the roads during
regularly-scheduled maintenance, reducing installation costs.
2. Piezoelectricity and patented technology . Piezoelectricity is
AB 306 (GATTO) Page 3
the charge that accumulates in certain materials, such as
crystals and ceramics, in response to applied mechanical strain.
Innowattech is the company that owns the patent for a "new
breed of piezoelectric generators (IPEGTM)." According to
Innowattech's website,
Piezoelectric materials undergo deformation (strain) when
an electric field is
applied across them (the converse effect), or produce
voltage when deformation
is applied (the direct effect), and thus can be used as
either actuators or sensors.
Innowattech has developed a new breed of piezoelectric
generators, using the
converse effect, with a mechanical/electrical association
that Ýis] ideally suited to
harvest the mechanical energy imparted to roadways from
passing vehicles. In
addition, Innowattech has developed a very efficient
storage system to collect and
store the electricity produced by these generators.
Other companies, such as Channel Technologies, make
complementary components for the
technology, such as the piezoelectric ceramics.
3. Protocol for energy research . When Caltrans tests new
products and technology, it follows a testing protocol. First,
Caltrans evaluates the potential for the new product or
technology based on data prepared by a third party. Caltrans
then does its own theoretical testing and calculations. The
second step in the protocol is small model testing of the new
product or technology in a laboratory setting. Lastly, Caltrans
in partnership with a university, tests the product or
technology under a heavy motion simulator to test pavement
durability, and in this case, energy generation. This bill
bypasses the protocol that Caltrans usually follows for
evaluating new products and technology by requiring the research
to be done as pilot projects and not in a controlled
experimental setting. The committee may wish to consider
whether it is appropriate to override Caltrans' usual testing
protocol.
4. Energy collection and model assumptions . Under the testing
assumptions that 600 heavy
trucks or buses will travel a single lane of one kilometer in
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length over the span of one hour,
Innowattech has calculated that the generators are capable of
producing an average of 200 KWh
of energy, sufficient electricity to provide for the average
consumption of 200-300
households per year. Under the same assumptions, a Ph.D. student
in mechanical engineering at
UC Berkeley, under the supervision of his professor, did the
same calculations and found that
the maximum energy available will be between 14.7 and 21.8 kWh
per hour per
kilometer of road. Furthermore, the professor states that this
is a best-case scenario, and
actual implementation may only yield between 1-2kWh per
kilometer of a busy roadway, once
all of the losses are considered. According to Caltrans weigh
and motion station data,
there are 40 one-mile stretches of Interstate 5 in California
that currently have a traffic load of
14,400 trucks per day, which averages to 600 trucks per hour.
This traffic load accounts for
all lanes of traffic in both the north and south bound
directions, so to meet the
assumptions of these calculations, the energy generators would
need to be installed in all
lanes where trucks travel in both the north and southbound
directions. The committee may wish
to consider whether it is worthwhile to authorize pilot
projects, without further
legislative review, that could disrupt the road surfaces of
major highways.
5. Double-referral . The Rules Committee referred this bill both
to the Transportation and Housing Committee and to
the Energy, Utilities, and Communications Committee.
Therefore, if this bill passes this committee, it will be
referred to the Energy, Utilities, and Communications Committee.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 73-3
Appr: 12-5
Trans: 11-1
NatRes: 6-1
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday,
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June 22, 2011)
SUPPORT: California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom
Channel Technologies, Inc.
Environmental Defense Fund
Paul M.E. Bunje, Ph.D, Center for Climate Change
Solutions, UCLA
Qibing Pei, Professor of Materials Science and
Engineering, UCLA
Sierra Club California
State Building and Construction Trades Council of
California
OPPOSED: None received.