Our View: Utility's request to add more pollution to Escondido's air is cause for concern

It's not yet time to grab for the gas mask in Escondido, but recent news billowing out of that city's new power plant should have residents and their representatives concerned.

While the San Diego Gas & Electric Co. plant is still a welcome source of new power for North County, the city of Escondido must not be asked to accept more pollution than it was promised by the utility. It's OK if the plant, which came on line a little more than two weeks ago after months of test runs, still has some kinks to work out. It's not OK if SDG&E keeps pumping more smog-causing chemicals into Escondido's air.

At issue is how much nitrogen oxide the utility's Palomar Energy plant will release. The power plant near Escondido's western edge will produce the chemicals as a byproduct when it burns natural gas to drive its turbines. Nitrogen oxides are a source of ozone, which, when it's not blocking the sun's deadly ultraviolet rays in the high atmosphere, is an irritant to lungs breathing in smoggy air. The vast majority of nitrogen oxides fouling up San Diego County's air comes from cars and trucks, but industrial sources such as Palomar Energy can't be ignored.

SDG&E is now allowed to produce 200 pounds of nitrogen oxides per hour during startup and a yearly total of 124 tons. The utility already expanded its annual limit from 104 tons by buying $2 million in emissions credits that are supposed to clean up air pollution elsewhere in the county. That's good for San Diego County, but not so good for Escondido.

So the city should be wary at the utility's latest request -- SDG&E is asking the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District for a one-year variance on its emissions cap. SDG&E wants to be able to pump out up to 450 pounds of nitrogen oxides per hour during startup, and it also says it must extend the turbines' startup time from two to six hours, but says the changes won't add more of the smog-producing pollutants on a yearly basis.

The company's regulatory filings suggest that the plant's engineers are trying to figure out how to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions during startup. The plant uses catalytic converters -- like on a car, but larger. If the engineers get the mix of injected chemicals right within a few more months, the emissions problem could be solved.

The utility isn't in control of how often the plant starts up: the California Independent System Operator will dictate how often Palomar Energy will operate. The plant's advanced technology also makes it slower to start up: Two turbines burn natural gas, and excess heat is captured to produce steam that runs a third turbine and generator. Such recycling of energy is supposed to make the Palomar Energy plant cleaner.

But the longer start-times requested by SDG&E raise questions as to just how clean the new plant will be, as startups are when Palomar Energy is expected to produce the most nitrogen oxides.

What's more, because the plant is just getting up and running, we don't know how it will be operated, how much nitrogen oxide it will produce and how often the state's energy-grid managers will require it to run. At least for now, it's too early to tell whether Palomar Energy will deliver on its promise of cleaner, recycled energy to North County.

But it's not too early to get concerned. San Diego Gas & Electric must not exceed the state's pollution levels for long. A one-year variance may be acceptable, a necessary recognition that changing technology and a dynamic state energy grid have made the assumptions of 2003 outdated and unreasonable. But if SDG&E continues to foul the air more than it promised, Escondido residents and leaders would be right to challenge the utility's future requests for permission to pollute.

It's not enough that the utility cleans up the air elsewhere in North County. Escondido was promised a cleaner power plant and won't settle for less from SDG&E.