By Jason Fordney
Two California Energy Commissioners are recommending the agency deny a permit to construct NRG Energy’s proposed Puente Power Project natural gas-fired plant in Oxnard, casting into doubt the chances that the facility will be built.
Commissioners Janea Scott and Karen Douglas, who are preparing a proposed decision on the 260-MW project, last week said they intend to issue a notice recommending denial of the project, which is opposed by some on environmental grounds.
“It is clear to us that the project will be inconsistent with several laws, ordinances, regulations or standards and will create significant unmitigable environmental effects,” the commissioners said. This requires study of feasible alternatives, they said, referencing Sept. 29 comments filed by CAISO in which it said a new, expedited request for offer (RFO) process would need to be launched to ensure that current facilities slated for retirement are closed in accordance with environmental laws.
About 2,000 MW of generation in the area is due to retire by 2020 because of once-through-cooling regulations, and Puente is intended to replace NRG’s retiring Mandalay and Ormond Beach plants.
After issuing the notice, the commission will take comments and hold a public hearing, and all five commissioners can accept, modify or reject the proposed decision.
“We acknowledge that this statement is unusual but observe that it in no way impairs the rights of the applicant or any other party,” Scott and Douglas said. “All procedural requirements will continue to be honored.” They said they made the decision early in the process because of timing considerations raised by CAISO regarding the RFO.
The CEC is reviewing the construction and operating permit for the facility. The California Public Utilities Commission has already authorized Southern California Edison to enter into a long-term resource adequacy contract with NRG for the plant’s capacity.
NRG told RTO Insider on Friday that it is “very disappointed” with the decision. “We believe the record fully supports the approval of Puente. NRG favors California’s move to a carbon-free electrical grid but remains concerned about local reliability during the transition.”
On Aug. 16, CAISO issued a study on Puente saying it could not be affordably substituted with any alternatives. (See Metcalf Reliability-Must-Run Draws Scrutiny.) But in Sept. 29 comments to the CEC, CAISO led off with a different perspective: “The Moorpark [sub-area] study demonstrates that preferred resource alternatives are technologically feasible to meet local capacity requirements.” Under California policy, “preferred” resources refer to non-emitting resources such as energy efficiency, demand response, distributed energy and storage.
CAISO noted that several parties had raised concerns over the resource portfolios it had examined in its study, which included three different combinations of distributed, reactive and storage resources. “But these concerns do not detract from the central finding that a combination of preferred resources and/or reactive power devices can meet the local capacity requirements for the Moorpark sub-area if procured and implemented in a timely manner.”
In comments filed with CEC on Sept. 29, NRG said the project will not have significant environmental impacts, complies with laws and “will result in many reliability, environmental and economic benefits.” It added that alternative resources examined by CAISO “do not exist in sufficient quantities to satisfy the sub-areas [local capacity requirements] need” and could not be deployed in time.
The City of Oxnard in its comments said the plant, proposed for a dune area near the open ocean, would be in a hazardous location and will lead to more pollution. “Puente remains the wrong project in the wrong location,” the city said.
The next CEC Puente Power Project Committee conference is scheduled for Oct. 11 at the commission’s headquarters in Sacramento.