BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 306
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 306 (Gatto)
As Amended May 27, 2011
Majority vote
NATURAL RESOURCES 6-1 TRANSPORTATION 11-1
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|Ayes:|Chesbro, Knight, |Ayes:|Bonnie Lowenthal, |
| |Brownley, Dickinson, | |Jeffries, Achadjian, |
| |Monning, Skinner | |Blumenfield, Buchanan, |
| | | |Eng, Furutani, Galgiani, |
| | | |Miller, Portantino, |
| | | |Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Halderman |Nays:|Logue |
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, | | |
| |Bradford, Charles | | |
| |Calderon, Campos, Davis, | | |
| |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, | | |
| |Mitchell, Solorio | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, | | |
| |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Authorizes the California Energy Commission (CEC) to
conduct research on piezoelectric transducers and establish a
pilot project employing the technology in collaboration with the
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).
Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes the CEC to conduct research on the feasibility of
generating electricity using piezoelectric transducers under
major roadways.
2)Requires the CEC to collaborate with Caltrans to establish a
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pilot project that would employ piezoelectric-based energy
harvesting technology if the CEC finds it is appropriate.
3)Requires the CEC to report its findings in the 2013 Integrated
Energy Policy Report (IEPR).
4)Sunsets the above provisions January 1, 2015.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the CEC to assess electricity infrastructure trends
and issues facing California and develop and recommend energy
policies for the state to address and resolve such issues as
part of its biennial IEPR. The IEPR covers three main
subjects: electricity and natural gas markets; transportation
fuels, technologies and infrastructure; and, public interest
energy strategies.
2)Directs about $70 million per year of energy utilities
ratepayer funds to the CEC to administer the Public Interest
Energy Research (PIER) Program. PIER funds are allocated
according to general statutory guidelines and a more specific
CEC-developed investment plan. Investments in research,
development and demonstration (RD&D) are permitted in energy
technologies that provide tangible benefits to the utility
customers who fund the program. Collection of funds for these
purposes currently is authorized until 2012.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Potential minor, absorbable costs to CEC, should it choose to
conduct initial research �Public Interest Research,
Development, and Demonstration Fund (PIRDDF)].
2)Potential significant costs to CEC, likely in the hundreds of
thousands to millions of dollars, to conduct additional
research, which would include a pilot project, should CEC
choose to pursue such research (PIRDDF).
3)Potential costs to Caltrans, possibly in the millions of
dollars, to install pilot project, which, according to
Caltrans, would need to occur on the state's busiest
commercial corridors and to remove it should the pilot project
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prove damaging to roadway or the vehicles that use it or
present a safety hazard, should CEC choose to pursue such
research (PIRDFF or State Highway Account).
COMMENTS : Piezoelectricity is the charge which accumulates in
certain materials, such as crystals and ceramics, in response to
applied mechanical strain. The piezoelectric technology
installed under the surface of roads described in this bill is
patented by Israel-based Innowattech. According to the firm's
Web site:
Innowattech has developed a new technology, which enables
harvesting and conversion of mechanical energy of the
passing vehicles, wasted throughout movement, into
electrical energy. The mechanical energy is derived from
the compression stress created during the vehicles' travel
on road?The energy expended on the vehicle's movement is
mainly used to overcome rolling resistance, resistance
occurring when the wheel is moving forward on the road
surface. In addition to the energy used to move the wheel
forward (in the horizontal direction), part of the fuel
combustion is wasted on creating a deformation in the
asphalt, which is basically the product of the loaded
wheel's influence on the road surface? When a vehicle
passes over a road, the road deflects vertically. The
deflection is proportional to the weight of the vehicle and
the asphalt stiffness?Innowattech's generators are embedded
at a depth of about 5 cm; the area where the compression
stress is maximal. The external load results in the
deformation in both the asphalt layer covering the
generators and the generators ?The deformation of the
generator and the shortening of the piezoelectric columns
embedded in the generators, generate charges on the
piezoelectric columns that are the source for the electric
energy.
Innowattech claims, on the basis of mathematical models, that
its generators have a potential to generate an average of 200
kilowatts per hour for the highway with traffic of 600 heavy
trucks/buses per hour on average (very high traffic). These
estimates have not been confirmed and actual generation data
from Innowattech's demonstration projects in Israel is not
available to the Natural Resources Committee. Existing research
on piezoelectric technology funded by the CEC's PIER program has
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focused on the micro-watt scale. The CEC is not able to
estimate the potential or cost of the technology at larger
scales.
Analysis Prepared by : Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092 FN: 0001068