🚀 go-pugleaf

John Higdon <no-spam@radiomonopoly.com> wrote:

> The Metcalf Energy Center is ideally sited. The location has: a major
> natural gas pipeline; is adjacent to a major electrical switchyard; is
> located INSIDE a load center that has relatively low-capacity connections to
> the grid.

> Advantages: No gas has to be piped. No transmission lines need be
> constructed. Power will be generated where it is used. Though located very
> near urban centers it is mostly out of the way.

> Disadvantages: None apparent.

> Yet the feckless San Jose city government caved in to Cisco and the NIMBYs
> that just cannot bear to have something called a "power plant" in their
> backyards and vetoed the plant.

> Hopefully, in the light of all that has transpired, San Jose will be
> overridden and the plant will be built anyway. Any other outcome would be
> sheer stupidity.

More NIMBYism in LA:

http://www.latimes.com/communities/news/los_angeles_metro/20010125/t000007312.html

By HUGO MARTIN, Times Staff Writer

     The neighboring cities of Downey and South Gate have stepped up
opposition to the first proposed power plant in Los Angeles County in
20 years, citing concerns over health risks and the effects on property
values. 
     The South Gate City Council voted 3-0 this week, with two
members abstaining, to oppose the 550-megawatt Nueva Azalea
plant proposed for the industrial outskirts of that blue-collar
community in southeast Los Angeles County. 
     But the vote is nonbinding, as will be a citywide referendum
scheduled for March. The final decision to permit the plant rests with
the California Energy Commission, which is scheduled to decide in
August. 
     Neighboring Downey is trying to mobilize its own residents against
the project by mailing out fliers today to all 39,000 households,
alerting them to what critics allege are the plant's potential hazards
and urging them to attend a coming public hearing. 
     Gov. Gray Davis has declared the construction of new power plants
a top priority for easing the state's energy crisis. But the protest over
the Nueva Azalea plant is an example of the ardent
not-in-my-backyard opposition that such plants can face, especially
in urban settings. 
     The plant is proposed for a 13.5-acre site now occupied by a
diesel truck depot south of Southern Avenue, next to the Long Beach
Freeway in South Gate, near the border with Downey. The natural
gas-powered plant would be nearly the size of Dodger Stadium and
would cost $256 million to build. 
     The project has already won the preliminary approval of the South
Coast Air Quality Management District, which says the plant is
expected to surpass all air-quality regulations and would help ease
the power crisis. 
     Still, California Energy Commission officials say the plant would
emit as much as 56 tons of oxides of nitrogen, 17 tons of carbon
monoxide, 24 tons of volatile organic compounds and 287 tons of
particulate matter into the air each year. 
     All four compounds contribute to the formation of smog and have
been linked to health problems. 

     New Majority Opposes Plant 
     Until this week, the South Gate City Council had taken no position
on the project. Critics say that inaction was based on anticipation that
the plant would generate as much as $6 million per year in tax
revenues for the city, plus $1 million in neighborhood improvements
and $150,000 in community scholarships. 
     But a November recall election put in power a new majority that is
vehemently opposed to the plant. 
     That majority voted against the plant Tuesday after a loud march
on City Hall by Communities for a Better Environment, a Huntington
Park group that calls the project an example of environmental racism
because it is proposed in a heavily Latino, working-class
community--a charge vehemently rejected by Sunlaw Energy Co., the
company seeking to build the plant. 
     South Gate Mayor Raul Moriel said the health risks associated with
the power plant are not worth the financial benefits. 
     "There is no amount of money that our city can make in revenues
that is worth one life," said Moriel, who voted along with council
members Xochilt Ruvalcaba and Maria Benavides to oppose the
project. 
     Councilmen Hector De La Torre and Henry Gonzalez abstained. De
La Torre said he is concerned about the plant's health risks but wants
to wait until further studies are completed before taking a position. 
     Sunlaw officials strongly defend their project but promise to abide
by the outcome of the March referendum. 
     "If the public wants us out, we will leave," said Sunlaw project
manager Tim Smith. "If they vote for us to stay, we will progress with
our project." 
     Sunlaw officials say the plant would be the cleanest power plant
in the United States. They add that it would benefit Downey and
other surrounding cities because it would generate far less air
pollution than the diesel truck depot it would replace. 
     "The city of Downey is getting huge positive impacts from the
power plant," Smith said. "They are getting less pollution than they
get from the trucks." 
     Unlike South Gate, Downey stands to receive no financial benefits
from the project. But, according to state energy officials, prevailing
winds would blow about 85% of the power plant's emissions into
Downey. 
     "The simple fact is, we have nothing to gain from it," said Downey
Mayor Robert Winningham. "What we do gain is whatever is produced
environmentally that is harmful." 
     Winningham said the power plant would not be obligated to sell
electricity to Downey in the case of blackouts. 
     The Downey City Council has already hired an environmental
expert to scrutinize the proposal and is considering hiring a public
relations firm to spread the word about it. 
     The council voted unanimously Tuesday to spend $8,000 to mail
the fliers, urging residents to attend a hearing Wednesday hosted by
the California Energy Commission. 
     Downey's business community hardened its opposition to the
project when real estate agents recently learned that the existence of
the power plant would have to be disclosed on all residential real
estate sales in the city. 

Maria Larkin, president of the Downey Assn. of Realtors, said her
organization fears the plant could endanger the health of Downey
residents and reduce the value of their property. 
     "I know California is in an energy crunch now, but they need to
get a better location," Larkin said.