State Commissioners Want To Extend The Lives Of Three Power Plants Once Again

Three power plants along the Southern California coast could see their operations extended well past their original expiration date after the California Energy Commission on Wednesday approved a proposal to extend their lives through 2026.

The proposal, which still has to go before the State Water Board, would be the second extension for Ormond Beach Generating Station in Oxnard, AES Alamitos and AES Huntington Beach, which were supposed to shut down by the end of 2020.

In 2010, California adopted a policy that would retire coastal power plants that use ocean water to run, but the state hasn’t invested in enough renewable energy sources to make up for losing the plants.

Representatives from the Department of Water Resources, who presented at the energy commission's meeting, say it’s necessary to have the power plants as a last resort in case an emergency causes a large power outage.

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“The reserve acts as an insurance policy that’s triggered when the grid operators anticipate an extreme event on the grid, and as we’ve seen that could be heat, drought, flood, wildfire,” said Delphine Hou, deputy director of statewide water and energy.

But people who live nearby say they’re tired of dealing with the plants’ adverse effects. For three hours, dozens of people addressed commissioners.

“Most South Oxnard residents are lower income and people of color, oblivious to the pollution they are living and breathing every single day,” said 16-year-old Oxnard resident Ariel Sanchez. “This is a definition of environmental racism. It is frustrating to be a teenager and seeing the adults in our government who are supposed to be looking out for our future make the wrong decision that will have devastating impacts to our health and our climate.”

Lucia Marquez, associate policy director for CAUSE, a grassroots environmental justice organization in Ventura County near AES Alamitos, brought a petition to the meeting with more than 1,000 signatures.

“We’re tired of asthma and cancer plaguing our neighborhoods,” Marquez told the commission. “We’re tired of the broken promises that this will be the last extension, and we’re tired of being sacrificed while fossil fuels make millions.”

The State Water Board will hold a final vote at its Aug. 15 meeting.