Aging power plants in Southern California won’t close as scheduled
California’s desire to phase out fossil fuels is apparently bigger than its ability to do so.
Plans to shut down outdated gas-fired power generators this year in Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Redondo Beach and Oxnard are being postponed, with the state Water Resources Control Board voting 4-0 on Tuesday, Sept. 1, to endorse the move.
It’s the final approval needed, with shutdowns to be delayed as long as three years beyond the original closure date of Dec. 31, 2020.
The California Public Utilities Commission called for the move last year after determining that closing the plants as scheduled could leave customers vulnerable to power outages during evening hours, when electricity use is high and the availability of solar and wind energy is low.
“I’ve been struggling with this decision for several months,” said water board member Sean Maguire. “But in light of the uncertainty, the ability to bring additional resources into the grid gives me more confidence.”
The state water board needed to approve the extension because it set the 2020 closure deadlines. That decision, made a decade ago, was part of a move by the agency to shut down aging natural-gas generators that use ocean water as coolant, a process that can kill marine life that gets sucked into the intake pipes.
Of the 19 coastal plants with ocean-cooled generators, 15 have closed or will shut down their old units by the year’s end.
Fighting the delay
Opponents to postponing closure of the remaining ocean-cooled generators — including the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council — say there’s no need to keep the old units online. In addition to the harm the plants pose for marine life, opponents expressed concern about air pollution and carbon emissions from the aging units, questioedn whether there was adequate environmental review, and called for more mitigation by the power plant owners.
Among more than four dozens speakers Tuesday — most in opposition — none specifically singled out the generators at the Huntington Beach or Long Beach plants. Both locations started up new, more efficient air-cooled generators this year that will continue running after the old units are shuttered.
However, elected officials, attorneys and residents turned out in force for the online meeting to object to the extension of the Redondo Beach plant, which the city is planning to have demolished and replaced with a restored wetlands and a park.
Those foes showed photos of black smoke billowing from plant stacks, and said the site is surrounded by the most densely populated neighborhoods on the state’s coast.
“This happens very often,” Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand said of the unsightly air pollution. “It’s investigated and nothing ever happens. Fines are never issued.”
Meanwhile, officials in Oxnard generally supported the extension. As part of the decision, the water board also approved extending the life of one unit at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in San Luis Obisbo County by eight months, until August 2025.
Blackouts
Some pointed to the the state’s rolling blackouts during the heat wave of mid-August as evidence of how precarious the electrical supply can be in California.
The state’s worst power shortage in 19 years found some energy experts saying there was adequate power to avoid the shutdowns. But the California Independent System Operator, which coordinates the flow of 80% of the state’s electricity, said it made the call because three power plants went off line, wind power production dropped and there was a lack of energy from out-of-state suppliers.
The Independent System Operator previously warned of possible shortfalls beginning the in the summer of 2021. The Public Utilities Commission said last week it planned to investigate and publish an analysis of what caused last month’s blackouts.
The plan approved by the water board will extend the life of one generator at AES Huntington Beach, three at AES Alamitos in Long Beach and two at Ormond Beach in Oxnard through the end of 2023. Like the plant in Redondo Beach, the Oxnard operation is scheduled to close entirely once the old generators are taken out of commission.
Three generators at AES Redondo Beach, which had been scheduled to close at the end of the year, will remain operating through 2021.
With the state now getting more than a third of its energy from renewable sources, the gas-fired generators are known as peaker plants because they’re most needed during peak evening and morning hours, when solar and wind power is minimal. The state’s goal is to have an electrical grid that has 60% renewable energy by 2030 and is carbon free by 2045.
However, board members questioned their staff with concerns that additional extensions for the old generators could be requested by the state’s energy agencies.
“They’re fairly confident this won’t come back,” water board Chief Deputy Director Jonathan Bishop responded. “But they can’t guarantee it.”
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