City Council To Vote On Powerplant Resolution

The City of Carlsbad City Council is getting more and more serious about its opposition to NRG’s proposed second power plant. They’re even planning to vote on something:

The Carlsbad City Council will vote on a resolution finding that the second power plant proposed by NRG, called the Carlsbad Energy Center Project violates key city laws, regulations and plans at the regularly scheduled council meeting Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held at the council chambers, 1200 Carlsbad Village Dr. Members of the public are welcome to attend.

Sadly, the city has no control over whether the plant gets approved or not, but it’s nice to see them going down with a fight. Follow the jump for the rest of the release.The Carlsbad City Council will vote on a resolution finding that the second power plant proposed by NRG, called the Carlsbad Energy Center Project violates key city laws, regulations and plans at the regularly scheduled council meeting Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held at the council chambers, 1200 Carlsbad Village Dr. Members of the public are welcome to attend.

The resolution declares that NRG’s proposed 540-megawatt power plant does not comply with applicable land-use laws and regulations, including the comprehensive land-use plan required for the project site and the South Carlsbad Coastal Redevelopment Plan. In addition, the resolution states that non-coastal dependent industrial projects should be located further inland to avoid impacts to sensitive environmental resources. The resolution would take the city’s opposition to the project to a new level through the formal finding that such a use would be in violation of the planning concepts on which the city has developed.

The California Energy Commission, not the city of Carlsbad, has the authority to approve the proposed power plant. The CEC may override the city’s finding that the project does not conform to its laws, regulations and plans.

The proposed power plant would be located at the 95-acre site of the existing Encina Power Station, which has been operating on California’s coastline for 55 years. The proposed project does not include tearing down the old power plant. The old plant will be torn down when the state decides it is no longer needed, regardless of where the new plant is built.

NRG submitted an Application for Certification to the California Energy Commission for the power plant in September 2007. The CEC issued a Preliminary Staff Assessment of the project and hosted a two day public workshop at which residents raised a number of concerns.

The City of Carlsbad previously expressed similar concerns, opposing the new power plant due to its proximity to the coast; significant impacts related to water supply, noise and industrial wastewater discharge; and the likelihood that the project will affect views and create safety hazards after the anticipated widening of Interstate 5. In an effort to avoid such impacts, Carlsbad officials have also proposed seeking alternative sites.