by The Editors on October 17, 2009
This Tuesday, October 20, 2009 the Carlsbadistan City Council will be considering the passage of a moratorium on coastal power plants to prevent NRG from putting in its proposed second power plant on the Encina Power Station property, according to a release sent out by the City of Carlsbad.
If passed, this action would prohibit a second power plant proposed by NRG, requiring the state to overrule the city if the plant is to be approved. . . Also under the resolution, no development application will be accepted, processed or approved that would expand the size, location, generating capacity or use of the Encina Power Station for the duration of the moratorium. . . . The resolution under consideration would establish an emergency ordinance on the building or expanding of power plants on Carlsbad’s coast, meaning it would go into effect immediately and could last for up to two years.
Anything that slows the industrialization of the Aqua Hedionda Lagoon is fine by us, but why stop at the power plant? Why not throw in a little rider prohibiting a desalination plant as well? No harm in that really.
Follow the jump for the entire release.
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by The Editors on September 30, 2009
Carlsbadistan’s Power of Vision, “a coalition of opponents” to the proposed NRG West power plant, held another press conference yesterday to remind everyone that building another power plant in Carlsbadistan is a very bad idea. They were joined yesterday by two congressional candidates.
Francine Busby and Solana Beach Councilmember Dave Roberts, both of whom are running for Congress in the 50th District, also announced their opposition to the project at today’s event. Roberts’ opposition was previously lodged as part of the Solana Beach Council. . . Elected officials of the cities of Vista, Solana Beach and Del Mar have written letters to the City of Carlsbad citing opposition to the proposed 540-megawatt power plant due to its significant regional impacts to the environment, coastal resources and the region’s visual resources.
We know there are a lot of details involved, but we just think a beautiful coastal lagoon is a seriously silly place for another power plant (or desalination plant). So more power to the Power of Vision. Follow the jump for the full release.
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by The Editors on July 24, 2009
A new report by the Oakland, California-based Pacific institutes claims the best solution to California’s water problem is to simply curb waste in the Central Valley, according to a post on the Wall Street Journal’s Environmental Capital blog.
What’s interesting about the analysis is just how much the authors think a combination of irrigation technologies and management practices can save: 5.6 million acre-feet in an average year. That’s 17% of all water used by California farmers, and more than twice the total the state’s millions of city-dwellers could save if they wised up about their water use. It’s also a whole lot more than the enormous desalination plant in Carlsbad, Calif. will produce when it comes online.
See what they’re getting at here?
[Link: Environmental Capital]
by The Editors on July 21, 2009
Crews could start ripping up prime lagoon-front land for the Poseidon Resources desalination plant as soon as November, according to a story on KPBS.com.
The company that plans to build a desalination plant in Carlsbad has hired three people to oversee the project’s construction. Poseidon Resources hopes to break ground this fall. . . Poseidon Resources says the three new management employees have decades of expertise in water supply, engineering and project construction. . . Maloni says the company expects to start construction on the $300 million Carlsbad desalination plant in November. . . He says the plant could be operating in 2012.
Seems like we drink enough ocean water as it is. . . but then again, the developer is a thirsty beast and we want to be sure and keep him well hydrated so he can get back to building more houses when this whole economy thing turns around, right?
[Link: KPBS]
by The Editors on May 13, 2009
Most knew that it was only a formality, but this morning the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board met to vote on Poseidon Resources proposed desalination plant in Carlsbadistan’s Aqua Hedionda lagoon. And guess what? It was a unanimous approval according to a Michael Burge story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The ruling clears the way for Poseidon Resources to turn 50 million gallons of ocean water a day into drinking water on the grounds of the Encina Power Station at Agua Hedionda Lagoon. . . Peter MacLaggan, Poseidon’s senior vice president, said the decision means the company can begin building the $320 million plant, with the goal of providing water by early 2012. . . The water quality board has required Poseidon to create 55.4 acres of new wetlands in Southern California to provide a nursery for fish and other marine organisms that will be killed in the desalination plant’s processes.
And “progress” marches on.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on May 13, 2009
Beginning July 1, 2009 the Carlsbadistan Municipal Water District is joining the San Diego County Water Authority and moving all of us into a “Level 2 Drought” alert.
What does that mean? Not a whole lot actually. We’ll be restricted to watering only three times a week (at night) for no more than 10 minutes, we won’t be able to hose down our driveways, and we’ll have to ask for water in local restaurants. Follow the jump for all the details.
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by The Editors on May 12, 2009
It’s turning into a pretty bad week for proposed desalination plant builders Poseidon Resources.
First, the California Coastal Commission is “rethinking their permit” after Executive Director Peter Douglas noticed that “information Poseidon provided that panel was inconsistent with information it provided the commission last year,” and that these changes could result in a larger fish kill, according to a Michael Burge story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Then, experts quoted in a New York Times story claim that it will be very difficult if not impossible for Poseidon Resources to get financing for their Carlsbadistan project if stalled desal projects in Australia, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia are any indicator. While Poseidon says they could get financing in place in “six weeks.” Tom Pankratz, director of the International Desalination Association, said such a deal would fly in the face of an international trend of stalled projects.”
Pankratz noted that larger desalination projects in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Australia have been left flailing for financial partners at crucial junctures. He doubted Poseidon’s reality would be different. . . “Right now, financing is difficult for any large project, and desalination plants are no exception,” Pankratz said. “For them to say six weeks in this financial climate, that sounds optimistic to me.”
The project goes up for a vote at the San Diego Regional water board “at 9 a.m. Wednesday at 9174 Sky Park Ct. in San Diego,” according to the North County Times.
[Links: San Diego Union-Tribune and The New York Times and North County TImes]
by The Editors on April 9, 2009
The Surfrider Foundation’s argument that that California Coastal Commission acted illegally when it failed to “require Poseidon to reduce the amount of fish and marine organisms that would be killed in the desalination process” were rejected today in San Diego Superior Court today, according to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Judge Judith Hayes issued a tentative ruling rejecting arguments by Surfrider Foundation and the Planning and Conservation League that the California Coastal Commission misapplied state law when it gave Poseidon Resources a coastal development permit to build the plant. . . . Marco Gonzalez, the attorney for Surfrider and the league, said the groups are unhappy with the ruling and believe the court misunderstood some facts. . . “In particular, a large part of the prospective ruling is based on the perception that the project was previously approved by the Regional Board,” Gonzalez said.
One more hurdle out of the way for the for Poseidon Resources and the desalination plant.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on April 8, 2009
The vote has been delayed, however, the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board has decided to close the desalination plant hearing “meaning no new evidence or testimony will be considered at the next meeting,” according to a story in the North County Times.
Poseidon Resources Corp., the plant’s prospective builder, made encouraging progress at the hearing, said Scott Maloni, a vice president of the Stamford, Conn.-based company. . . “We think it’s a significant milestone,” Maloni said. “They ended the public debate over the project, and they agreed to come back next month and make a decision. The time delay is insignificant in comparison to the milestone of the public debate coming to a close.”
Writing in the San Diego Union-Tribune Michael Burge said that the plant has been “all but approved” and that the board will “give the project a final green light at a later meeting.”
[Link: North County Times and San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on April 8, 2009
It recently came to light that the number of fish Poseidon Resources‘ proposed desalination plant will kill is actually four to seven times higher than it originally estimated thanks to a math error in their calculations discovered by the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board last year, according to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
But in poring over Poseidon’s study on the number of fish its plant would kill, the board’s staff discovered a math error last year that significantly underestimated the number. . . .When challenged, Poseidon admitted the mistake but said it shouldn’t affect its proposal to create 55.4 acres of new wetlands to compensate for the fish killed. . . “We believe the . . . impacts for the desalination project are de minimis (insignificant), and the impacts can be offset by the 55.4 acres,” said Scott Maloni, Poseidon’s spokesman.
But, of course, that statement makes no sense at all. More damage requires more restoration. Seems pretty simple to us.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]
This Tuesday, October 20, 2009 the Carlsbadistan City Council will be considering the passage of a moratorium on coastal power plants to prevent NRG from putting in its proposed second power plant on the Encina Power Station property, according to a release sent out by the City of Carlsbad.
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