NRG Energy Inc. plans to replace the existing Encina Power Station in Carlsbad with a cleaner and more efficient generating facility that would be located on site, adjacent to the current power plant.
The first phase of that project would be to modernize the Encina Power Station, which NRG recently filed an application to do with the California Energy Commission. The project, known as the Carlsbad Energy Center, will include the retirement of three older generating units, but will increase the net output of the facility by 200 megawatts, which is enough additional power to supply more than 160,000 homes.
“Southern California's recent heat wave made very clear the need for additional clean and reliable energy resources in the region,” said David Crane, president and CEO of NRG. “By modernizing this plant and offering additional capacity, NRG is able to provide much needed power generation during these peak times, and to do so in an environmentally superior way.”
Originally constructed in 1954, the Encina Power Station has five steam generating units and one peaking combustion turbine. The proposed modernization would replace the three oldest steam generating units with a high-efficiency power plant. Generating units 4 and 5, built in 1974, will continue to operate.
The Carlsbad Energy Center is designed to support the renewable energy resources being added to the California grid. The plant will use air-cooled condensers instead of ocean water for its cooling requirements, reducing the impact on the adjacent Agua Hedionda Lagoon and Pacific Ocean.
The new units are 30 percent more fuel efficient than the steam generating units, resulting in a significant reduction in carbon emissions from the plant, according to NRG. Emissions from the new plant will be well below California's newly imposed greenhouse gas standard.
Policy initiatives in California and the San Diego region call for the eventual replacement of the state's aging power generating fleet with cleaner, more efficient technologies. The Carlsbad Energy Center is designed to have a low visual profile and compliment the future commercial development of the Encina site.
“The Carlsbad Energy Center is an important step in the transition of the current generating station. The project helps meet the region's need for reliable, efficient power,” said Steve Hoffmann, NRG's western regional president. “We look forward to working with the California Energy Commission and community leaders in Carlsbad to implement this important energy project.”
Pending issuance of necessary permits and contingent upon securing a long-term sales contract for the power, NRG anticipates a 19-month construction schedule to complete the project, with the goal of bringing the facility online by the summer of 2010. The project will create more than 350 construction jobs in the San Diego region.
For more information, visit www.nrgenergy.com.
The first phase of that project would be to modernize the Encina Power Station, which NRG recently filed an application to do with the California Energy Commission. The project, known as the Carlsbad Energy Center, will include the retirement of three older generating units, but will increase the net output of the facility by 200 megawatts, which is enough additional power to supply more than 160,000 homes.
“Southern California's recent heat wave made very clear the need for additional clean and reliable energy resources in the region,” said David Crane, president and CEO of NRG. “By modernizing this plant and offering additional capacity, NRG is able to provide much needed power generation during these peak times, and to do so in an environmentally superior way.”
Originally constructed in 1954, the Encina Power Station has five steam generating units and one peaking combustion turbine. The proposed modernization would replace the three oldest steam generating units with a high-efficiency power plant. Generating units 4 and 5, built in 1974, will continue to operate.
The Carlsbad Energy Center is designed to support the renewable energy resources being added to the California grid. The plant will use air-cooled condensers instead of ocean water for its cooling requirements, reducing the impact on the adjacent Agua Hedionda Lagoon and Pacific Ocean.
The new units are 30 percent more fuel efficient than the steam generating units, resulting in a significant reduction in carbon emissions from the plant, according to NRG. Emissions from the new plant will be well below California's newly imposed greenhouse gas standard.
Policy initiatives in California and the San Diego region call for the eventual replacement of the state's aging power generating fleet with cleaner, more efficient technologies. The Carlsbad Energy Center is designed to have a low visual profile and compliment the future commercial development of the Encina site.
“The Carlsbad Energy Center is an important step in the transition of the current generating station. The project helps meet the region's need for reliable, efficient power,” said Steve Hoffmann, NRG's western regional president. “We look forward to working with the California Energy Commission and community leaders in Carlsbad to implement this important energy project.”
Pending issuance of necessary permits and contingent upon securing a long-term sales contract for the power, NRG anticipates a 19-month construction schedule to complete the project, with the goal of bringing the facility online by the summer of 2010. The project will create more than 350 construction jobs in the San Diego region.
For more information, visit www.nrgenergy.com.