Blog: NoPowerPlant.com Starts Signature Drive; More State Reports Show AES Redondo Not Required

It's been a busy week on the front....

NoPowerPlant.com kicked off their petition signature drive for the resident initiative that phases out the Redondo power plant and replaces it with a mix of commercial and public recreational open space zoning. People have been driving to Redondo grocery stores just to sign the petition. They also held a fundraiser at Sophie's last Sunday as well.

Congressman Henry Waxman joined a growing group of elected officials and candidates opposing a new power plant in Redondo.  

"As the author of the 1990 Clean Air Act, I think it is absolutely essential that we do all we can to cut air pollution in the region. There is no question that burning fossil fuels causes significant pollution and health impacts. We need to be shifting to clean energy. I believe we should remove the power plant from Redondo Beach. I encourage AES and California’s regulatory agencies to take this opportunity to permanently retire this facility and  to allow redevelopment of the site.”

Meanwhile state power agencies released more reports showing AES Redondo is not required.  

A CAISO power requirements analysis, dropped their predictions for power needs in the LA Basin. The report again shows that there is sufficient excess generation capacity in the Western LA Basin without AES Redondo and without the San Onofre Nuclear power plant.

According to the CEC overview of new power plant activity:

Currently, 6,350 MW of new power generation is under construction

Another 3,989 MW of new power generation is approved for construction

CEC is currently reviewing applications for 3,439MW of new generation.

Three of the new power plants scheduled to come online next summer are in the LA Basin, and will add over 1,800MW to our part of the grid.

That totals to 13,778MW of new power plant generation in the pipeline right now. The loss of AES Redondo power generation is dwarfed by new generation currently in the pipeline.

While AES claims to be a good neighbor, they released black smoke on Aug. 15 that was captured on video by a King Harbor boater. They also had a steam vent on the morning Aug. 10 for hours that exceeded noise regulations. Likewise, a system on the southwest corner of the AES property produced noise for at aleast 20 minutes that exceeded noise limitations on Thursday afternoon. Of course, our city will do nothing about these. How can we trust AES to live up to noise and pollution restrictions on their new plant and how can we trust our city to enforce those limits?

A new power plant in Redondo is ludicrous. Since our Council refuses to act, the people must. If you're a registered Redondo voter and you've not signed the hardcopy petition now circulating, do it now. Signing the online petition doesn't count. You can find more info at www.nopowerplant.com