Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
State Commissioners Want To Extend The Lives Of Three Power Plants Once Again
Photo by lady_lbrty via Flickr
(
Flickr
)
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.
Support for LAist comes from
“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.
Support for LAist comes from
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist