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Committee advances pilot to study converting idle oil wells into gravity energy storage
Summary
SB 567 would create an eight‑year pilot to permit and evaluate converting idle oil wells into gravity‑based energy storage with monitoring and reporting requirements; the committee recommended the bill as amended to appropriations amid questions about groundwater basins and site protections.
SB 567 was advanced by the Assembly Natural Resources Committee with a due‑pass recommendation to the Appropriations Committee. The bill would authorize a pilot program to study converting idle oil wells into gravity‑based energy storage wells, require site testing and monitoring, and charge CalEPA with reporting to the Legislature after eight years.
Assemblymember Zibur presented the bill on behalf of Senator Limon and said the state needs large quantities of energy storage to meet projected demand; the California Energy Commission projects roughly 52,000 megawatts of storage are needed by 2045. The sponsor said nearly 39,000 idle oil wells exist in the state and the pilot would permit and test gravity energy storage systems in eligible wells with mechanical‑integrity requirements and continuous monitoring. After eight years CalEPA would make recommendations to the Legislature on a framework for any continued use.
Pete Montgomery of RenewWell Energy, the bill sponsor, said the measure creates a cautious pilot with site‑selection safeguards and monitoring that could both accelerate plugging and monitoring of idle wells and provide flexible storage to help deploy more renewable energy.
The Water Replenishment District of Southern California testified in opposition unless amended, urging protections for two groundwater basins (Central and West Coast basins) that provide drinking water to millions and asking that the pilot exclude those basins during the eight‑year program. The district also requested that operators be required to notify groundwater managers, watermasters and public water systems on any leak, citing local legacy contamination issues and the long‑term cost of remediation.
Assembly members questioned the geological and leakage risks and received technical responses from industry witnesses; one member with prior oil‑industry experience said most wells are underpressured and the likelihood of migration absent mechanical failure is low. The bill’s presenter noted the measure already contains provisions that require cessation of operations upon loss of mechanical integrity and a one‑year plug‑and‑abandon timeline for wells that lose integrity.
The committee moved SB 567 as amended to the Appropriations Committee on a roll call vote; the motion carried.
