Riverside, Calif., to Build Power Plant
By Darla Martin Tucker, The Business Press, San Bernardino, Calif. -- June 14
The city of Riverside Public Utilities is sinking $75 million into a new power plant that, once constructed, will eliminate the need to purchase additional power from other companies to meet energy demand on hot summer days. The new plant will also help shield the city from electricity blackouts caused by earthquakes or other natural disasters, or by any sort of state financial crisis, said Tom Evans, public utilities director.
The new power plant, to be called the Riverside Energy Resource Center, will
help eliminate any future need for large businesses to cut back on electricity
consumption during a crisis, Evans said.
The California Energy Commission is holding a second workshop June 17 at the
Riverside Water Quality Control Plant on Acorn Street in Riverside to hear
public comment and Riverside utilities' responses to state requests for
information on land use, traffic, water resources, air quality and other issues.
The Riverside Energy Resource Center will consist of two 49-megawatt
generators on 12 acres near Van Buren Boulevard and Jurupa Avenue. A
transmission line will be installed about a mile down Jurupa Avenue from the
plant to connect at an electrical substation.
The plant will produce nearly 100 megawatts of electricity, which the city
will use as an additional energy source on scorching days when air conditioner
use jumps.
Generally, one megawatt can provide electricity for 500 to 1,000 homes. The
city requires about 500 megawatts of power on hot summer days, Evans said.
The resource center's electricity production will eliminate a contract with
the California Department of Water Resources for 50 megawatts of power, a deal
that ends in 2005. The new plant will also eliminate contracts with the Deseret
coal power plant in Utah and with another company, contracts for a total 50
megawatts that end in 2008-09, Evans said.
The utilities department will nearly break even on the cost--the department
currently pays 7.5 cents to 8.5 cents per kilowatt hour to outside firms, and it
will cost about 7.5 cents per kilowatt hour to produce electricity at the new
plant.
The benefit is in having the additional electricity source in town, "in
case something goes wrong with the state-wide grid," Evans said.
The utilities department plans to issue bonds to pay for the new plant and is
in negotiations with a company to provide materials procurement and
construction, although Evans declined to identify the firm.
Evans will submit the construction company to the public utilities board on
June 18 with a recommendation for a contract award, he said.
The proposed contract will then be forwarded to Riverside City Council the
first week of July.
Construction on the Riverside Energy Resource Center is expected to begin in
October after state approval and city building permits are issued.
The generators will eliminate the need to buy electricity from other
companies to meet energy demand on hot summer days
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