“…Our coastline is cleaner, our air is healthier, our region a leader in climate action because of Carmen. To honor her legacy is to believe that change is possible and to redouble our efforts.”
Tell the California Energy Commission and California Department of Water Resources to keep their promises and REJECT the plan to extend the Once-Through-Cooling Power Plants (Ormond Beach, AES Alamitos, and Huntington Beach) and instead prioritize clean alternatives, plan for the original timeline of retirement by December 31, 2023, and shutdown all toxic, polluting gas plants in environmental justice communities.
FAST Action #1: Sign this petition and share the links with your friends!
- Sign the petition here!
- Click here to share this petition on Facebook.
- Click here to share this petition on Twitter.
Action #2: Make a comment!
Please provide public comment virtually or in-person in Sacramento to tell decision makers to reject proposals to allow these plants to run for 3 more years! We need as many people as possible to speak out against this.
- August 9: The CEC vote will be held on August 9th at 9am-3pm.
- August 15: he State Water Board vote will be held on August 15th 9:30am-3pm.
Deeper dive
The Ormond Beach Generating Station is a toxic and polluting power plant located in the most densely populated community of color in Ventura County that experiences more pollution than 94% of other neighborhoods in California. It was planned to shut down in 2020 but was extended for 3 more years to ensure power grid reliability after a heatwave in August of 2020 caused brief rolling blackouts. The added time was to give public utilities more time for alternative energy sources to get on line. Oxnard also negotiated a deal with the owner, GenOn, to set aside $25 million for demolition of the power plant and remediation of the site’s soil and groundwater.
What was learned in the 3-year extension, which included another heatwave test in 2022? Here’s the summary from a very readable 2023 study
One of the specific issues noted during the 2022 Aug.31-Sept. 9 heat wave, was that the the Ormond Beach Generating Station did not perform well. Two of its units were ranked first and sixth of the worst 15 gas plants with the highest rates of curtailment (reduction in service) during the heatwave. “Such high levels of curtailment casts serious doubt on the wisdom of contracting with this plant to meet urgent energy needs.“
“The state has put itself between a rock and a hard place by relying so much on these plants,” said Bill Powers, a mechanical engineer who serves on the board of the Protect Our Communities Foundation, a San Diego-based clean energy and environmental advocacy group. “You don’t want that plant taking a final shot in the big ballgame.”
Emissions requirements were also lifted during the 2022 heatwave, adding roughly 60% more toxins into the air of the surrounding communities. Ormond Beach was called out again. “The struggles to increase output from the Ormond Beach units were reflected in significant emissions increases. As shown in Figures 30, 31, and 32, (see pages 28 and 29) during the heatwave the low-income community of color in Oxnard, which hosts the Ormond Beach units as well as several other gas generators, were subjected to enormous spikes in SO2, NOx and CO2 emissions.“
The report authors estimated that for all the facilities studied, the SO2 and NOX emissions during the heatwave caused $12.3 to $27.8 million in potential negative health impacts, $5.0 to $11.3 million higher compared to the baseline pollution.
The health results are well known. (Cal Health Report) “Research has shown that people who live near fuel-burning power plants are more likely to have respiratory problems. A 2012 peer-reviewed study found that people who lived in a zip code with a fuel-fired power plant were 11 percent more likely to be hospitalized for asthma and 17 percent more likely to be hospitalized for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.” Oxnard residents already have some of the highest percentages of asthma in the state.
Sea-level rise risks: A recent study conducted by the University of California, Berkeley in coordination with various community organisations, including CAUSE, found that Oxnard and the surrounding area are at heightened risk of industrial sites flooding due to sea-level rise driven by climate change.
The same study found that disadvantaged communities are more than five times as likely to live within one kilometre of industrial sites at risk of flooding by 2050. “Sea level rise, toxic facilities and social vulnerability all map onto each other,” Lucas Zucker of CAUSE said.
Eco-system damage: The use of once-through cooling systems causes severe environmental impacts. When the water from a once-through system returns to the original source, it can have temperatures up to 37°C hotter than the surrounding water, killing billions of fish and other marine life, contributing to algae blooms and ruining coral reefs, further harming the ecosystem. Power plants utilizing once-through cooling also are subject to increased incidences of shutdowns or curtailments during times of drought and extreme heat.
Fighting fire with napalm: In 2021, Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance), who represents Redondo Beach, said “The energy demand for extreme heat caused by climate change should not be met by continuing to contribute to climate change with these unneeded natural gas power plants.”
Instead of shutting down the Ormond Beach Power Plant this year, the state is planning to extend it AGAIN for 3 more years, sacrificing the health and safety of Oxnard residents, along with another carrot-on-a-stick promise by GenOn to start a trust for a future park on the site.