CARLSBAD: Utility officials discuss proposed improvements to power plant

Facilities would be moved east of railroad tracks

By LEIGH ANN DEWEY - For the North County Times | Friday, August 29, 2008 6:09 PM PDT ∞

CARLSBAD ---- A project that would update and eventually replace the Encina Power Station, with its landmark 400-foot smokestack overlooking the Carlsbad coastline, was the focus of a community workshop Thursday night at the Sheraton Resort and Spa.

The workshop was hosted by power station owner NRG Energy in the hotel's ballroom to present information about the proposed changes. The company's plan is being reviewed by the California Energy Commission.

The commission is expected to issue a draft report about the project this year. NRG is proposing construction of the $550 million Carlsbad Energy Center, which would initially be powered by two natural gas-powered turbines.

The proposal calls for construction of two 139-foot smokestacks and two rapid-fire "peaker-style" generators that would produce 540 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 400,000 homes. Unlike the present plant that is cooled by millions of gallons of water a day from the nearby Agua Hedionda Lagoon, the new turbines would be air-cooled.

The facilities would be built between the railroad tracks and Interstate 5, north of Cannon Road and east of the current plant. Once completed, the power station overlooking the Agua Hedionda Lagoon would be torn down, and a San Diego Gas & Electric Co. switchyard relocated.

The present plant was designed in 1948 and began operating in 1953.

"We desperately need new energy sources in this area of San Diego County," said project manager Tim Hemig. "Demand is increasing at about 4 percent each year, and the current system cannot keep up."

The proposed generators would help the company keep pace with the demand, Hemig said.

Carlsbad officials have objected to the proposal, and the City Council recently voted 5-0 to oppose it.

"The city is concerned because (the project calls for) a long-term use of coastal land, which would not be in the best interests of the city or its people," said the city's municipal projects manager, Joe Garuba.

Garuba called the property "a jewel" that could be better served by other uses.

"We are supportive of the plant, just not at that location," he said, and he suggested the site would better suit projects more dependent on the coast, such as the recently approved desalinization plant by Poseidon Resources.

He said Carlsbad recommends the project be relocated to the eastern part of the city on property that borders Vista and Oceanside, where land is already zoned for industrial uses.

Although NRG officials say their coastal property would be properly screened from residents and nearby Interstate 5, "the project would be 40 feet away from the freeway and can't be properly screened." Garuba said. "It would create a visual blight."

Hemig said the site would be 30 feet below the surrounding landscape, and computer models show that at some points, "you don't see the site at all."

Oceanside Councilman Jack Feller, who attended the ERG workshop, said he was concerned about Carlsbad's proposal to move the plant to the east, near Oceanside.

"I wouldn't be in favor of moving the plant to Oceanside's borders," Feller said, adding that the move "could cause a rift between the cities of Oceanside and Carlsbad."

Tom Becker, a Vista resident and former San Diego Gas & Electric Co. employee who attended the meeting, said he was pleased with the project because "it is on existing land, it's low-profile, will have fewer emissions, and will have less impact than if it were moved inland."