AES waiting on generator decision

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH - State officials are due to issue a preliminary

decision soon on whether powerhouse AES Corp. can refurbish two defunct

electricity generators at a facility near Pacific Coast Highway and add

to the state’s power coffers.

The California Energy Commission’s committee overseeing the AES

proposal is expected to release a proposed decision by March 26, followed

by public hearings and a possible commission approval by early April.

The commission’s site committee, staffed by Commissioners Arthur

Rosenfeld and Robert Pernell, as well as hearing officer Garrett Shean,

conducted evidentiary hearings on the matter in a seven-hour Friday

session. Residents and officials with the city and AES turned out at the

Huntington Beach Central Library the day before for commission workshops

on the issue as well.

“It has not been easy,” Shean said of the expedited tract the project

has been following.

Without the cooperation and interest of AES and residents, a fair and

expedited review may not have been possible, he added.AES officials are

planning to restart generating units No. 3 and No. 4 at the power

company’s 21730 Newland St. plant, which were retired in 1995, after

bringing them up to date and fitting them with hardware that would reduce

the amount of noxious emissions caused from energy production.

If the state commission gives the project its final OK, the restored

power generators would about double the energy-producing capacity of the

shoreline plant, enough to power 450,000 more homes, energy officials

said.

“When AES first bought this plant, our intent was that at one time the

site would be expanded and modernized,” said Ed Blackford, site manager

and president of AES’s Huntington Beach facility, adding that the

original plan was to replace the older units. “But that situation has

changed drastically in light of the recent energy crisis, and we looked

at how to bring more generators online as soon as possible.”

If the two units are brought up to specs and started this summer, AES

officials said they might be in use for about 20 years, but stressed that

they did not request the fast-tracked process that seems to be

catapulting the project forward.

In fact, they added, the full 12-month process would be more

preferable because of the added time it allows.

City officials said Monday that the interaction between the city, its

residents, AES and the commission has been successful.

“The City Council has been advocating for the best air quality

possible for the project,” said Assistant City Administrator Bill

Workman, adding that the Southern California Air Quality Management

District has stressed the need to address not only No. 3 and No. 4, but

AES’ peaker unit as well.

The plant’s visual impact has been discussed, as well as a proposal

for a five-year cap on the permit which could open the plant up for

modernization sooner than expected, city officials added.