Chamber urged Carlsbad Council to approve agreement with NRG, SDG&E
The Carlsbad City Council, NRG Energy and SDG&E have struck a deal for a new power plant that will do away with the Encina Power Station, and its 400-foot-tall cooling stack, and replaces it with a lower-profile, more environmentally-friendly "peaker" power plant, which would run only during periods of peak demand for electricity.
The agreement, approved at the Jan. 14 city council meeting, also frees up land along Carlsbad Boulevard for uses that are more appropriate for the coast, according to the city.
Under the agreement, NRG Energy is committed to retire the Encina Power Station by Dec. 31, 2017 and demolish everything above ground in the site within three years at its expense. NRG will also relocate the SDG&E service center (pending regulatory approval) further inland and develop an initial redevelopment plan for the city. SDG&E would then transfer ownership of the land to the city.
The new "peaker" plant will provide about 600 megawatts of electricity by 2017. Dubbed the Carlsbad Energy Center Project, the new development would feature a cooling tower built in the tank farm "bowl" that is 30-feet below the surrounding grade, meaning that the new tower would only appear to be 60 feet tall. It will also offer improved air quality, reduced water usage be less noisy.
"This agreement allows us to address long-standing community concerns about the use of our precious coastal land while doing our part in continuing to help meet the region's energy demands," said City of Carlsbad Mayor Pro Tem Mark Packard in a statement issued by the city. "Best of all, the community will finally get the old power plant torn down and other benefits at no cost to taxpayers."
At the meeting, Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Ted Owen urged the council to approve the agreement.
"This agreement will help ensure local businesses will have a reliable power supply while accelerating redevelopment of the property owned by NRG and SDG&E," Owen said. "The proposed Carlsbad Energy Center will generate hundreds of construction jobs and pump millions of dollars into the local economy."
John Chillemi, president of NRG Energy's West region, praised the agreement.
"We are very pleased to have been able to reach this agreement which is a win for the people of Carlsbad, SDG&E customers and allows NRG to quickly redevelop a site that is very important to the needs and reliability of the local electrical grid," said Chillemi. "We look forward to completing the permitting process so that we can move forward on building a new plant, removing the old plant and developing a site in which we can all take great pride."
With the agreement secure, NRG is now preparing and amended project application for submittal to the California Energy Commission for review and approval.
The Carlsbad City Council, NRG Energy and SDG&E have struck a deal for a new power plant that will do away with the Encina Power Station, and its 400-foot-tall cooling stack, and replaces it with a lower-profile, more environmentally-friendly "peaker" power plant, which would run only during periods of peak demand for electricity.
The agreement, approved at the Jan. 14 city council meeting, also frees up land along Carlsbad Boulevard for uses that are more appropriate for the coast, according to the city.
Under the agreement, NRG Energy is committed to retire the Encina Power Station by Dec. 31, 2017 and demolish everything above ground in the site within three years at its expense. NRG will also relocate the SDG&E service center (pending regulatory approval) further inland and develop an initial redevelopment plan for the city. SDG&E would then transfer ownership of the land to the city.
The new "peaker" plant will provide about 600 megawatts of electricity by 2017. Dubbed the Carlsbad Energy Center Project, the new development would feature a cooling tower built in the tank farm "bowl" that is 30-feet below the surrounding grade, meaning that the new tower would only appear to be 60 feet tall. It will also offer improved air quality, reduced water usage be less noisy.
"This agreement allows us to address long-standing community concerns about the use of our precious coastal land while doing our part in continuing to help meet the region's energy demands," said City of Carlsbad Mayor Pro Tem Mark Packard in a statement issued by the city. "Best of all, the community will finally get the old power plant torn down and other benefits at no cost to taxpayers."
At the meeting, Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Ted Owen urged the council to approve the agreement.
"This agreement will help ensure local businesses will have a reliable power supply while accelerating redevelopment of the property owned by NRG and SDG&E," Owen said. "The proposed Carlsbad Energy Center will generate hundreds of construction jobs and pump millions of dollars into the local economy."
John Chillemi, president of NRG Energy's West region, praised the agreement.
"We are very pleased to have been able to reach this agreement which is a win for the people of Carlsbad, SDG&E customers and allows NRG to quickly redevelop a site that is very important to the needs and reliability of the local electrical grid," said Chillemi. "We look forward to completing the permitting process so that we can move forward on building a new plant, removing the old plant and developing a site in which we can all take great pride."
With the agreement secure, NRG is now preparing and amended project application for submittal to the California Energy Commission for review and approval.