54.3 F
San Diego
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
-Advertisement-

State Scolds Port for Foot Dragging on Power Plant Move

State Scolds Port for Foot Dragging on Power Plant Move

Environment: Plans Call for Relocation Or Rebuilding of South Bay Energy Facility

BY RENE’E BEASLEY JONES

The San Diego Unified Port District got a “political shove” last week from Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and environmentalists who want the aging South Bay Power Plant moved off the bayfront.

After five years of waiting for information on a possible new site for the plant, they argue the port is dragging its feet on the matter.

Bustamante chided port officials for spending money on expensive lobbyists to sway opinions in Sacramento instead of focusing on getting the 40-year-old power plant off Chula Vista’s doorstep.

“I keep asking the port, ‘Where’s your plan?’ We’re in our fifth year, and they have no plan,” Bustamante said.

He wants port officials to provide the State Lands Commission with information regarding a possible new site by the end of the year.

“At this point, we’re going to have to give (port officials) a push,” Bustamante said.

Bustamante, who chairs the California State Lands Commission, made those statements in San Diego on April 7, when the state agency met to discuss the South Bay Power Plant relocation and other business.

Site Leased to Duke Energy

The commission acts as a landlord of sorts for the state. As such, it is charged with overseeing the South Bay site.

The Port District conducts the day-to-day business of the tidelands, but must seek the commission’s approval for some projects.

North Carolina-based Duke Energy operates the South Bay Power Plant, located on Chula Vista’s shores. With the State Lands Commission’s approval, Duke entered into a 10-year contract to lease the plant from the port in 1999.

Part of Duke’s contract calls for the power merchant to build a new facility , if it is financially feasible and able to receive state permits , and tear down South Bay Power Plant. Duke has until 2009.

Duke spokesman Pat Mullen said the company provides updates to port officials twice a year on the company’s site-selection progress, but much of the information remains confidential. If word got out on the couple dozen San Diego sites that Duke has considered, it could affect the cost of those locations, Mullen said.

The number of sites has been whittled down to “a few,” he said. Duke is considering coastal and inland sites in San Diego County. Locating a new plant on the same site remains an option.

By 2005, the company expects to have a site selected. Duke plans to submit an application for a new power plant to state energy regulators by June 2006, Mullen said.

Must-Run Facility

Because of local energy needs, the state has designated South Bay Power Plant as a reliability must-run facility.

“It is absolutely critical to keeping the lights on in San Diego,” Mullen said.

Bruce Hollingsworth, the Port District’s CEO, said Duke doesn’t have to disclose potential sites at this point. And the company has met all the obligations of its lease, Hollingsworth said.

He was not aware that Bustamante had been asking regularly for information on the South Bay Power Plant.

Port officials visited with Bustamante in January and had briefed him on the power plant, Hollingsworth said. After the meeting, he felt comfortable that all of Bustamante’s questions were answered.

“If we received requests from the lieutenant governor, I assure you, we would have been responsive,” Hollingsworth said.

In San Diego last week, Bustamante said his preference would be to build the plant’s replacement away from the tidelands. A compromise would be an air-cooled facility on the coast.

Laura Hunter, director of the Environmental Health Coalition in San Diego, said the port’s aging plant uses outdated technology that harms South Bay aquatic life and air quality.

At peak generation, the plant pumps 3.1 tons a day of nitrogen oxides into the air, Hunter said. It also warms and chlorinates 400 million gallons of bay water daily. The plant must chlorinate the water to oust organisms before it is used for cooling.

If Duke seeks another coastal site, Hunter warned, the state permit process could take up to two years longer “because we’ll fight them.”

Contact Rene’e Beasley Jones via e-mail at

rbeasley@sdbj.com

or call her at (858) 277-6359, Ext. 109.

-Advertisement-

Featured Articles

Oberon Eyes Europe for Renewable DME

Leaders of Influence in Law 2024

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-

Related Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-