Energy: piezoelectric transducers: study.

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , on a biennial basis beginning in 2003, to adopt an integrated energy policy report providing information on specified subjects related to energy. Existing law establishes the Renewable Resource Trust Fund, a continuously appropriated fund appropriated to the Energy Commission, for the purposes of funding programs designed to foster the development of new in-state renewable electricity generation technology facilities. This bill would require the Energy Commission to conduct research on generating electricity using piezoelectric transducers under roadways or railways. The bill would require the Energy Commission to establish pilot projects that would employ piezoelectric-based energy-harvesting technology, if the Energy Commission determines that the technology has the potential to generate electricity with performance, reliability, and cost projections that are comparable to existing or emerging renewable energy sources. The bill would require the Energy Commission to collaborate with the Department of Transportation and would require the department to conduct research on the piezoelectric-based energy-harvesting technology according to the department's usual research protocol if the pilot project is conducted in a facility that is part of the state highway or rail system under the department's jurisdiction. The bill would authorize the Energy Commission to expend the moneys in the Renewable Resource Trust Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement this research. The Energy Commission would be required to report its findings in the integrated energy policy report adopted in 2013. These provisions would be repealed on January 1, 2015.