Tear Down the Redondo AES Power Plant
New California law requires Redondo's power plant to drastically reduce or phase out the use of ocean water for cooling by 2020. AES has filed its plan to build a new Redondo power plant. Construction would be nine years - from 2015 to 2024.
We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to rid our waterfront of this blighting eyesore. We hope you will join us in the crusade to tear down the power plant!
We are one step closer to our vision of a waterfront park...our gift to generations to come.
Thanks to all who donated to BBR! Today we reached the funding level necessary to fully fund our legal costs associated with finalizing the AES site rezoning ballot initiative. The initiative zoning will phase out the power plant and allow a mix of parkland, commercial and institutional uses.
Donations came from over 500 people from all districts in Redondo and cities across the South Bay. This shows the issue is a regional concern, not just “NIMBYism” as our opponents would have people believe. We also received donations from Environmental Priorities Network and the Guacamole Fund. Donations even came from other states including ex-Redondo residents who want to see the power plant torn down. Again, thanks to all for your generous donations during tough times and your commitment to a better vision for our waterfront.
BBR has signed a contract with our land use attorney and drafting of the final legal language of the ballot initiative has begun. We will incorporate some changes based on feedback a the public meeting Thursday evening. We’ve already incorporated comments received since we first posted the draft baseline zoning in November.
Special thanks to Councilman Bill Brand and all the folks of NOPOWERPLANT.COM. It would have been difficult to raise these funds without their efforts and support. And what is more remarkable, we did it ahead of schedule!
Photo shows how close plant plume is to residential rooftops. According to AES, the new smokestacks would be 80 feet closer to the ground. Graphic evidence that Redondo neighborhoods are in the path of power plant pollution.
Tonight we are holding a public meeting to educate the public on our proposed zoning for the power plant property and to solicit feedback from the public. The briefing I will give tonight and the actual baseline zoning document we are currently drafting is included on the “AES Related Reports” page of this blog.
Some have the misconception that our intent is to tie the City Council’s hands on what they can do with the site. That is not our intent. We have invited the Council to give us input on the zoning. Our sole intent is to phase out the power plant and replace it with zoning that will allow AES to make money on their property, provide positive cash flow to the City, and ensure a balance between the new businesses that might go in on the site and the impacts and benefits to residents.
The zoning allows a wide range of uses and includes lots of flexibility while ensuring views are protected and enhanced and that parkland and open space are part of the final reuse of the property.
We hope to see you tonight.
AES opponents left no empty seats in Chamber halls, the overflow watched a TV outside or from a packed conference room in the library (photo Robert Casillas, Daily Breeze)
Great job by all last night! Great turnout. We filled the auditorium, we filled the conference room in the library, they had to put a TV outside. Great testimony by all.A few kudos to our Councilmen.
1) As always, kudos to Bill for his insightful questions and leading the charge….
2) Steve Aspel did a good job pointing out that ISO and SCE were both advocates for power and power plants and AQMD and CEC were “neutral”.
3) Matt Kilroy asked some good questions as well.
4) City Attorney Mike Webb added great insight into the question on rezoning.
5) Steve Diels’ question on zoning brought a key question to the forefront.
Hats off to Zein Obagi, candidate for US Congress. He came out against the new plant publicly. He is also a land use attorney and clearly stated that rezoning while leaving economic value is not a “taking” and is perfectly legal.
Father and daughter find a seat on the floor in lobby of Chamber Halls. No more seats were left in Council Chambers. (Photo Robert Casillas, Daily Breeze)
Kudos are also in order for Jaleh Firooz, the State Coastal Conservancy power expert who analyzed all the data available and came to the conclusion Redondo’s power plant is not required. She drove up to the meeting from San Diego to testify. She did that of her own initiative our of her own pocket.
It was a good night albeit a late one for those who toughed it out to the end!
Emissions from our "clean burning" natural gas power plant this morning.
There is a whole community of people who get their workouts from human powered watercraft in our harbor - kayakers, outrigger canoeists, rowers, Stand-Up Paddleboarders...- too bad our "clean burning" natural gas power plant is spewing unhealthy particulates right over the harbor.
One of the officials from the City of San Francisco sent us several of their resolutions against the repowering of their Potrero power plant. I have posted those on the “AES Related Reports” page. If you take the time to read through them you will find that their fight goes all the way back 2002 and included several lawsuits about a variety of minor violations by the power plant, resolutions and Memorandum’s of Agreement between multiple government organizations. San Francisco was very proactive and VERY persistent, with action after action over multiple years. San Francisco’s actions serve as a model of success for our City to oppose our power plant. Let’s hope they follow San Francisco’s example!
The April 6th edition of the Beach Reporter included an article about the role of Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) and the new AES Power Plant. According to Dr. Lisa Santora, BCHD’s Chief Medical Officer, the Health District cannot take a position on a land use, but they can take a position on health impacts including the potential health impacts from air pollution. From the Beach Reporter article:
The biggest issue for AES is particulate matter, the liquids and solids that are released as particulates from the stacks, Santora said. Overall within the local community, about 50 percent of these emissions come from mobile sources and 50 percent from stationary sources.
“The power plant is one of the most significant contributors to the community of particulate matter,” she said, “and this is going to be a significant issue for them.”
We are confident that with the higher run rates AES is projecting (15% to 30% annual capacity), the new plant will produce more particulate pollution than the current plant, which runs at about 5% of annual capacity. We are hopeful that BCHD will become an ally and an advocate for decreasing our air pollution from this site.
BBR and NoPowerPlant have long pointed out the health impacts of the new plant’s increased particulate matter emissions. We have also pointed out the economic impacts of the power plant. With the power not needed and the negative health and economic impacts, this plant should be permanently retired.
Let state officials hear your voice at the City Council Meeting on April 10th, at 6PM.
On January 30th, the CA ISO released a detailed analysis of power generation capacity and needs through 2016. This report is yet another in a growing list of State Agency reports that shows we do not need power form AES Redondo. The report documents completed and planned enhancements to power transmission infrastructure as well as new power sources being added to the grid.
Here is a quote that summarizes the power generation requirements (called Local Capacity Requirements or LCR’s) related to our section of the grid, the LA Basin:
Overall, the LCR trended is downward due to numerous transmission projects. It is worth mentioning the following areas: …(4) LA Basin, where the LCR was reduced mainly due to the installation of the Colorado River-Devers #2 500 kV line and the Vincent-Mira Loma 500 kV line (part of Tehachapi Transmission Project)
The 2016 LA Basin generating capacity includes five new power plants representing 1,800 MW of new generation capability added after 2012. That is 500MW more than the total potential generation capacity of AES Redondo.
The generation capacity is: 13,761MW
The worst case needs are: 10,380MW
This means we have over 3,381MW of excess capacity (32% excess capacity) . That is about equivalent of over two and half Redondo plants of excess capacity. If AES Redondo shut down in 2016, we would still have over 2000MW of excess capacity (still 20% excess capacity)
We know of at least 800MW of new power generation that will be added on top of the 1,800 MW added in this report. This will only increase the amount of excess power capacity.
Report after report shows that power from AES Redondo is not necessary for grid reliability. Put this together with the negative fiscal, environmental and health impacts and it’s a no brainer. Time to permanently retire the AES Redondo plant. If you read the Beach Reporter today, you found that BCHD is concerned about the health impacts of the new power plant as well. They have flagged their concern with the particulate matter pollution and its impact on our health.
Show your opposition to a new power plant to the state power agencies. They are all coming to the Redondo city council meeting on Tuesday, April 10th at 6PM. Come on out and show them Redondo residents do not want a new power plant.
We met with our lawyer Friday to finalize the terms of the contract and to define the overall construct of the ballot initiative that will phase out industrial uses on the power plant site. We anticipate the final initiative will be ready to submit by mid May at the latest.
We will be holding a meeting on April 12th at 7 PM at the Crown Plaza to brief residents on the zoning and to solicit public feedback. You can read the draft zoning on the “AES Related Reports” page of this blog.
Don’t forget the City Council meeting on the 10th! The state power agencies will be there and we need to send a message loud and clear that the residents of Redondo and Hermosa do not want a new power plant. We will be gathering at 5:30 PM… if you don’t want a new power plant, this is the meeting to be at!
As shown in the 1944 plan below, this is not the first time a park has been proposed for the AES site. In fact, the first plan for the City showed a park around the Salt Lake as well. Note the original, much smaller power plant is on the north end of the property. The Salt Lake was filled in to accommodate our current plant and Redondo lost this historic landmark. Whether we finally accomplish this recurring vision for our waterfront is up to us as we move forward on our ballot initiative.
1944 plan to revitalize Redondo waterfront by surrounding the old Salt Lake with a public park
