Managing Editor
Plans for the construction of a new, cleaner power plant in Long Beach will soon be underway.
Officials from the new Alamitos Energy Center (AEC) hosted a community meeting at Kettering Elementary School, which is near the existing plant, on Tuesday night to provide information and answer questions from the public.
Jennifer Didlo, president of AES Southland, and Dalia Gomez, AES community and public-affairs manager, gave a presentation on the scope of the project before fielding questions regarding safety issues, noise, road damage caused by hauling old structural pieces, possible traffic congestion and where the building parts are being transported.
AES filed an application for certification for the AEC in December 2013, after changes to state environmental law mandated that power plants significantly reduce the use of ocean water for cooling. Additionally, the State’s stringent goals for using renewable sources of energy in the coming years result in more demand for low-cost natural gas electricity to fill the gaps caused by less sunshine or wind. AES submitted a supplemental application for certification for the AEC in 2015, and it was granted this year.
The project contractor, Kiewit, will begin to mobilize the construction site on July 5. Initial work will consist of ground improvement and preparation of laydown areas, which are spaces to store and assemble project equipment and materials. All work will take place within the boundaries of the existing generating station, according to AES.
AEC, a new combined-cycle and simple-cycle power plant that uses natural-gas turbines, will replace the existing AES Alamitos generating station on Studebaker Road that still uses 1950s-era steam generators. Company officials say the modernized facility will be smaller and “much lower-profile,” and it will remain entirely within the existing boundaries of the current plant.
The AEC will have a generating capacity of 1,040 megawatts (MW) but will use 50-percent less fuel to deliver the same electrical service as the existing plant, officials say. It will have two gas turbine power blocks, with Power Block 1 (640 MW) consisting of two natural-gas-fired combustion turbine generators (CTG) in a combined-cycle configuration and Power Block 2 (400 MW) consisting of four simplecycle CTGs, according to the company’s website.
“The modernization project will also include a battery energy storage system,” the website states. “This 300 MW of green energy storage will allow the State to ‘set aside’ renewable energy for use during peak times and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. The battery storage systems will be housed in corporate-looking, two-story buildings that have no emissions, use no water and make minimal noise.”
The company says the new, modernized AEC will help close the energy gap left by the permanent closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and the retirement of older, less efficient plants that currently use once-through ocean water cooling, which California is phasing out, including the units at AES Alamitos.
“This will help meet the demand for new generation, to serve both peak and intermediate loads, in the heart of Western Los Angeles’s critical local electrical reliability area,” according to the website. “In addition, the changing needs of the electrical system require modern and flexible generating technology that can respond quickly to fluctuating electrical loads as we depend more on intermittent renewable energy— such as wind and solar— to meet our electricity demands.”
Compared to the nearly 36 hours it takes for the existing generators, the AEC will be able to start and stop in a matter of minutes, which will allow for integration of more renewable energy. It will also be able to respond quickly to “smooth out” the electricity supply when renewable facilities, such as those for wind and solar, are not operating.
Company officials say this advantage will provide the kind of clean, local and flexible natural gas electricity that State energy officials say is an essential part of California’s diverse energy portfolio.
“California has been working to implement its ambitious Renewables Portfolio Standards (RPS) program,” the AES website states. “Under this program, 50 percent of California’s overall energy must come from renewable sources by the year 2030. However, the unpredictability of wind and solar require natural gas and other more reliable sources— including energy storage— to ensure a continuous supply of energy.”
[aesop_image imgwidth=”500px” img=”https://signal-tribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-30-at-11.38.22-AM.png” credit=”Cory Bilicko | Signal Tribune” align=”left” lightbox=”on” caption=”Jennifer Didlo, president of AES Southland, provides information on the new Alamitos Energy Center, which is expected to help close the energy gap left by the permanent closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and the retirement of older, less efficient plants that currently use once-through ocean water cooling, which California is phasing out.” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off”] At Tuesday’s community meeting, one of the questions pertained to the amount of noise that neighboring residents will hear once the facility is operating. Didlo said the noise level will be considerably lower.
“The gas compression is going to be in a building,” Didlo said. “And then the other thing is, today, if we have an over-pressure situation in our steam systems, we lift a steam safety so that we don’t ‘blow the top off the kettle.’ […] The new system actually has an engineered system in it, and there will be no safeties like that. So, it will be quieter on all fronts. It won’t be that emergency relief, and also the gas system won’t ‘scream.'”
Other community members asked where the debris from the original facility is being transported and if traffic congestion should be expected.
Gomez said that she and Didlo did not know off-hand the exact site, but that she could take phone numbers from anyone interested and provide them with that information later.
“We can tell you where it’s going, but it has to go to an approved site,” Didlo said. “We have already removed— under your noses, without you probably knowing it— significant pieces of equipment. They get chopped up, literally, into small pieces, and they get put into trucks and hauled away.”
Pointing to a photo of the plant that was projected onto a screen, Didlo explained that much of the old facility has already been deconstructed and removed from the site.
In an emailed response to the Signal Tribune Thursday regarding the construction of the new plant, 3rd District Long Beach Councilmember Suzie Price, whose district includes the facility, expressed high regards for the project and the company.
“AES has been a great partner on this project, working to address resident concerns and keep the community informed,” Price wrote. “This project represents an important step in clean energy for Long Beach, and I look forward to its completion.”
More information about the project is available at renewaesalamitos.com.
