FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Justin Hager: (818) 558-3043
December 17,
2012 Cell: (415) 889-9762
Gatto Secures Funding for Cutting Edge Piezoelectricity
Project
SACRAMENTO –
After two years of work, Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) has found a new
partner in the fight for green transportation and domestically produced
alternative energy. Building on an idea
of Gatto’s, the California Energy Commission (CEC) has announced that it will
fund preliminary research on the potential of using California’s roadways to
generate green electricity.
The research will focus on
the large-scale energy-harvesting capabilities of piezoelectric materials,
which are currently used in everything from lighters to smart phones. The research stems from a bill authored by
Gatto, AB 306, which passed the legislature in 2011 with bipartisan support but
was vetoed by Governor Brown because of a lack of funding for the
project. In the veto message, the Governor encouraged Gatto to work
through the CEC’s grant process to obtain funding for the project, and a year
later, the assemblyman has successfully secured the funding.
“I am excited to see
movement on this important research,” said Gatto. “California is the car
capitol of the world. Just think how
much energy we could create if we can harness some of the wasted energy
produced by cars and trucks as they rumble down the roads.”
The science of piezoelectric
roads works as follows: When a car or truck passes over
pavement, the pavement vibrates. By placing relatively inexpensive
piezoelectric sensors underneath a road, the vibrations can be converted into
electricity to power roadside lights, call boxes, and neighboring
communities. It may sound like something out of science fiction, but this
technology has been used for years in sonar, and is used every day in touch-screen
phones to convert pressure into electrical impulses. There is no extra energy needed for the car
to transverse piezoelectric highways, because the sensors are located in the
pavement itself.
Several countries have
experimented with a road-based version of piezoelectric technology, including
Israel, which has already placed this technology under some of their
highways. In 2009, the East Japan Railway Company installed piezoelectric
flooring in their Tokyo railway station.
The energy generated by passing pedestrians is sufficient to power all
the displays in the station. More recently, Italy has signed a contract
to place the technology under a stretch of the Venice-to-Trieste Autostrada and
a dance club in San Francisco has piloted the technology under their dance
floor to run their lighting. Then-Mayor
Gavin Newsom worked on piloting the technology in pedestrian walkways in
downtown San Francisco.
“Now, California can join
the ranks of nations who are actively seeking uses for this exciting new
technology,” said Gatto. “Thirty years ago, very few people would have
believed that black silicon panels left in the desert could generate ‘solar’
power. And just ten years ago, people were skeptical when you described a
Bluetooth device. This technology is very real. I’m glad the state is
taking steps to keep California on the cutting edge of energy policy and I’m
very pleased the CEC has embraced the possibility.”
The Energy Commission should
complete initial research on the technology by the end of January, 2013 and
will determine, based on their findings, if a small-scale-test project will be
conducted by the State.
Mike Gatto is the
Chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the California State
Assembly. He represents the cities of Burbank, Glendale, La
Canada-Flintridge, La Crescenta, Montrose, the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Los
Feliz, Silver Lake, Atwater Village, and portions of the Hollywood Hills and
East Hollywood.
www.asm.ca.gov/gatto
# # #
No comments:
Post a Comment