Webinar-Series_white-offset

Date: May 12, 10:00 AM Pacific Time

Registration Required. Register HERE

Oregon and California share an extraordinary resource and opportunity. In the offshore area north and south of the Oregon and California border lies the best wind resource in the western half of the nation. Offshore winds, the product of thousands of miles of open water spanning the Pacific Ocean, blow strong and consistently; from Coos Bay to San Francisco, the wind resource rivals any in the world. Floating offshore wind technology can now capture those winds, even though the depths exceed the 60 meters that limit bottom mounted technologies. Southern Oregon and northern California could host tens of gigawatts of clean energy production and reap many benefits from this new clean energy sector. However, largescale transmission upgrades are necessary to absorb that power and connect to load. 

A possible means to overcome these challenges, maximize the benefits of this opportunity, and reduce potential impacts is to install a backbone transmission line between California and Oregon to which wind projects would connect. Planned mesh networks and high voltage direct current represent two possible approaches.  A planned network approach represents an alternative to each project building radial AC transmission to shoreside substations. An HVDC backbone transmission line could move remote power directly to end users in areas such as Los Angeles. Whatever form this pacific OSW transmission solution takes, it would require significant planning and investment, but would likely result in more high quality renewable energy from OSW, lower impacts on other ocean users, and lower energy costs for ratepayers. This webinar will explore this solution by discussing the following topics: 

  • What’s the opportunity/need for a subsea backbone transmission solution? Bill Henry, Independent Consultant
  • Transmission basics; HVDC vs AC; limitations, costs, and advantages. Erik Hale, POWER Engineers, Inc.
  • Planned Mesh Networks and the regulatory policy framework to support those networks. Jon Wellinghoff, CEO GridPolicy, Inc.
  • Subsea Backbone Transmission Basics – what would such a system entail? Steven Johnson, SUT-US Marine Renewable Energy Committee Chair
  • Discussion/Q&A. Jason Busch (Moderator), Pacific Ocean Energy Trust

Pre-registration is required and can be done quickly by clicking on the link above.