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Re: De-salinization plants are probably on their way in
Author: Dr Zarkoff
Date: 07-19-2014 - 18:00
>On the other hand, the No-Growth party of protest has shut down a proposal for a small desal plant in Santa Cruz (a place that needs it, desperately, even in good times), and for reactivating an old plant (which operated only for a short time, but is still there) in Santa Barbara (another place that desperately needs one).
And people complain about Berkeley's antics.
Closed Calif powerplants that I know of (all PG&E): Vallecitos, a test bed nuke plant -- the first nuke plant in the US; Humbolt bay, also a nuke plant, which has been decomissioned for something like 20-25 years; Hercules PP, Avon PP (both too small), and Potrero (in SF). PG&E sold off all of its thermal plants (like Contra Costa, Pittsburg, and Moss Landing) during the deregulation craze of the 1990s.
There has been a lot of hullabaloo over the "pollution caused" by Potrero Unit 3, which was built in 1965. It was designed to burn natural gas, so the accusations about it are a mystery to me. However, there was an adjacent coal gassification plant, idle since around 1920, which probably lead to all the pollution. It may have been modified to burn oil, because PG&E did to a number of power plants during a fuel crisis in the 1970s. However, I don't think any of them ever burned oil.
And no, Calif generating capacity hasn't been going down one single bit. Less than half of the power generated at Four Corners (that "coal plant on the Colorado River") goes to Sou Cal Edison (LA area), the rest goes to Arizona, New Mexico, and a few other places.
And people complain about Berkeley's antics.
Closed Calif powerplants that I know of (all PG&E): Vallecitos, a test bed nuke plant -- the first nuke plant in the US; Humbolt bay, also a nuke plant, which has been decomissioned for something like 20-25 years; Hercules PP, Avon PP (both too small), and Potrero (in SF). PG&E sold off all of its thermal plants (like Contra Costa, Pittsburg, and Moss Landing) during the deregulation craze of the 1990s.
There has been a lot of hullabaloo over the "pollution caused" by Potrero Unit 3, which was built in 1965. It was designed to burn natural gas, so the accusations about it are a mystery to me. However, there was an adjacent coal gassification plant, idle since around 1920, which probably lead to all the pollution. It may have been modified to burn oil, because PG&E did to a number of power plants during a fuel crisis in the 1970s. However, I don't think any of them ever burned oil.
And no, Calif generating capacity hasn't been going down one single bit. Less than half of the power generated at Four Corners (that "coal plant on the Colorado River") goes to Sou Cal Edison (LA area), the rest goes to Arizona, New Mexico, and a few other places.
