Public encouraged to weigh in on power plant recommendation

A new report from the California Energy Commission recommends licensing a new power plant along Carlsbad’s coastline, a finding City of Carlsbad officials called disappointing while emphasizing that the proposed project still has a long way to go before becoming a reality, if ever.  Watch a video about the proposed power plant.

 

The report, issued today, opens a 30-day comment period during which the public can make its views on the proposed plant known. The public also will have an opportunity provide input before the California Energy Commission when the commission meets in Carlsbad Thursday, April 19:

 

Thursday, April 19, 5 p.m.

Hilton Garden Inn

Wavecrest Ballroom

6450 Carlsbad Blvd.

Carlsbad, CA 92011

 

The authority to approve or deny the project lies with the state of California, not the City of Carlsbad.

 

Carlsbad city officials are urging the public to attend the hearing and make their views known directly to the Energy Commission. The City of Carlsbad opposes building a second power plant on the coast because it will prolong the use of the coast as an industrial zone for another 50 years or more.

 

The report, called a Revised Presiding Member’s Proposed Decision, recommends licensing the plant on a narrow strip of land between the Interstate 5 freeway and the coastal railroad tracks, south of Agua Hedionda Lagoon.

 

NRG, owner of the Encina Power Station, located on Carlsbad Boulevard just north of Cannon Road, submitted an application to the California Energy Commission in 2007 to build the second plant on its nearly 100-acre coastal site. The proposed plant would generate 540 megawatts of power and consist of two 14-story smoke stacks and two nine-story industrial buildings. There are no plans to sell the power locally.

 

NRG has made no guarantee that it would tear down the 57-year-old Encina Power Station if the new plant is approved, meaning that Carlsbad would be home to two power plants on its coast.

 

Since the plant was proposed five years ago, the City of Carlsbad and others throughout the region have raised a number of concerns:

 

City of Carlsbad officials also have pointed out that one of the reasons given to construct the plant — a need for new energy — is based on a flawed analysis. The California Independent Systems Operator, the agency responsible for assuring that the state has enough generating capacity to keep everyone’s lights on — originally testified that a new power plant was needed in Carlsbad to maintain the electrical grid’s reliability. The agency admitted recently that it had underestimated the amount of energy available to San Diego County, and therefore the need was overstated. City of Carlsbad officials believe this miscalculation had a direct influence on the Energy Commission’s recommendation to the license the power plant, meaning that recommendation was made in error.

 

When the old plant is eventually torn down, city officials have said they would like to see the land improved in a way that increases beach and lagoon access and benefits the community. Building a new power plant there would severely limit what could be done with the site, officials have said.

 

The full commission is expected to hold a final meeting some months after the April hearing, and decide whether to license the plant. Even if the commission votes to license the plant, the project must receive permits from the U.S. E PA., California State Lands Commission and the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board. 

 

Joe Garuba, 760-434-2893, joe.garuba@carlsbadca.gov

Kristina Ray, 760-434-2957, kristina.ray@carlsbadca.gov