Members of Sustainable UC Riverside and other local organizations protested against the possible construction of new carbon-emitting power plants on Sunday, Nov. 24 at Southern California Edison’s (SCE) Mountain View Power Plant in Redlands. Other participating organizations included: San Bernardino Valley College, organizers from the Sierra Club’s My Generation campaign, Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ), and Warehouse Workers United (WWU).
Back in early June, SCE decided to permanently close two reactors at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, which powered more than 1.4 million homes in Southern California. But the electricity utility company has vowed to supplement the loss of electricity by building natural gas plants, which protesters argue will still have an adverse impact on the environment.
According to a recent report released by the nonprofit Environment California Research and Policy Center, the Mountain View plant is said to be the dirtiest in California, emitting up to 1.85 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. At the same time, the 1,054-megawatt power plant uses natural gas to generate electricity, which powers about 685,000 homes.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), alongside the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the Water Board and California Energy Commission (CEC) are currently holding hearings in San Francisco to decide whether or not to build new power plants to supplant the power of the former San Onofre power plants.
During the protest, Sierra Club Organizer Allen Hernandez demanded cleaner and carbon-free power plants, such as in the form of air or water. “We will not tolerate the construction of polluting plants in our neighborhoods,” Hernandez said in a media release. “It is always sunny in the Inland Empire and when winds come, they come strong. There are alternatives that could protect people’s health.”
Clean energy supporters at Sunday’s rally are calling for the development of local renewable energy, energy efficiency programs and grid-level enhancements. This includes energy storage technologies like microgrids, which can capture renewable energy as it is generated. It also demands response programs, which seek to mitigate electricity use during peak hours or emergencies.
Yassamin Kavezade, president of Sustainable UCR and organizer for the My Generation Campaign, is calling for the CPUC to halt natural gas projects, while encouraging them to implement more renewable energy programs. “The (CPUC) cannot legitimize any more natural gas projects. I’m calling for them to not expand this pollution we have created,” she said. “Let’s create green jobs, not dirty natural gas jobs. It’s not clean natural gas, it’s simply not true.”
According to a press release prepared by the Sierra Club, building more natural gas plants will worsen current air quality issues. In San Bernardino County alone, more than 245,000 children and adults have asthma.
Hernandez said that it is sickening to breathe the emissions of carbon dioxide. “They knew this when they built this plant,” said Hernandez. “We want the Public Utilities Commission and Gov. Brown to know that the decision should be 100 percent renewable energy. We cannot afford any more natural gas plants.”
SCE spokesperson Paul Klein reported that the Mountain View power plant is one of the most efficient natural gas stations in Southern California. “Because of its efficiency, it runs a lot. It also produces the most power relative to other gas plants. It’s very efficient,” Klein said in a media release.
Ericka Flores, a volunteer with CCAEJ, expressed her concerns regarding natural gas tanks that OmniTrans utilizes for their buses. “It is known that natural gas includes methane, which is highly explosive,” Flores said. “They know about it but they don’t want to get it out of our community. That’s why it’s important to support events such as these because it’s about time they do what’s right.”
