State regulators on Thursday approved the replacement of 1950s-era Carlsbad power plant and its 400-foot smokestack with a new natural gas facility, over the objections of clean energy advocates who fear fossil fuels are here to stay.
The $2.2 billion deal for the new plant is designed to shore up electricity supplies after the early retirement of the San Onofre nuclear plant in June 2013.
The California Public Utilities Commission approved the new Carlsbad facility in a 4-1 vote over the objections of environmentalists who say the decision will unnecessarily tether utility customers to a fossil-fuel plant for decades to come.
San Diego Gas & Electric negotiated directly with Princeton, N.J.-based NRG Energy to buy power from the proposed plant, with no competing bids.
California is stepping warily into a green energy future, pairing a boom in solar energy construction with new natural gas generators to ensure reliable electricity — some say unnecessarily.
The final decision, written by commission President Michael Picker, asserted that the new gas-fired generators are needed, citing warnings by the state’s main grid operator, the California Independent System Operator.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/may/21/cpuc-carlsbad-power-plant/