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Executive Summary
This report shows that air pollution is projected to increase as a
result of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's (DWP) planned
repowering of local power plants, based on information contained in
DWP's Environmental Impact Reports and 2000 Integrated Resources Plan.
This projected increase is due to the planned
replacement of little used and small, peaking plants (used only during
high demand periods) with large, baseload (operating all day and
yearround) plants, resulting in a net increase in air pollution.
The
projected increases in global warming and smogforming pollution could
be avoided or reduced if DWP were to reduce future energy demands with
customerside conservation and energy efficiency while shifting to a
greater use of renewable energy.
This analysis shows that on
average, projected emissions from all four plants could increase 126%
and 128% for smog-forming and global warming pollution, respectively,
above 1995 levels by 2010. 1
The projected rise is sharpest at Valley Generating Station
(Valley), in the Sun Valley region. As Chart 1.1 shows, smog-forming
pollution (Nitrogen Oxides) at Valley is projected to increase by
approximately 1400% between 1995 and 2004, according to projections
within DWP s Environmental Impact Report. These increases come at a
time when Sun Valley faces high childhood asthma rates and is home to
several other large sources of air pollution.
The overall
increase in air pollution is projected to occur, despite the addition
of new pollution controls, due to two factors — increased use and
increased capacity. Older power plants have been replaced with new
larger turbines that are permitted for year-round use and not limited
to operation during peak demand only. This combination of increased use
and increased capacity allows DWP not only to meet the energy needs of
Los Angeles, but also to sell excess power to other utilities.
The
projected increase in carbon dioxide threatens DWP's goal of
maintaining its global warming pollution levels of 1990 as stipulated
in the Los Angeles Climate Action
Plan. Moreover, the projected increase in nitrogen oxide pollution from
levels of nearly a decade ago conflicts with South Coast Air Quality
Management District's call for a reduction of smog-forming pollution to
50% of 1997 levels by 2010 in order to meet national health standards
and avoid billions of dollars in federal sanctions.
Policy Recommendations
Los Angeles need not sacrifice public health or increase global warming
emissions in order to provide affordable and reliable electricity.
Instead of deepening its dependence on fossil fuels, the City's utility
should increase its use of cost-competitive and reliable renewable
energy, combined with increasing investments in energy efficiency,
conservation and ultraclean micropower to contain growth in demand.
By
shifting to these clean alternatives, Los Angeles can protect public
health, ratepayers, and create more jobs. Currently DWP gets only 2.4%
of its power from renewable energy, well below the state average of
12%, as seen in Chart 1.2. Instead of increasing reliance on natural
gas or other fossil fuels, DWP should adopt a Renewable Portfolio
Standard that increases its share of power coming from eligible
renewable resources by at least 1% each year, with a goal of at least
20% clean energy no later than 2017. DWP should also continue its
investment in energy efficiency and ultraclean micropower technologies
to reduce energy demand.
Note
1
It is useful to analyze pollution trends over the past ten years as
opposed to comparing today s emission levels to those of the 1980s and
early 1990s for several reasons. The most important is the fact that it was in 1995 that the
DWP's natural gas power plants were enrolled in the RECLAIM trading
program with the intended goal of reducing emissions by 2005. It could be argued that 1997 is a
more relevant year because SCAQMD used actual emissions from this year
as the baseline in setting the goal of reducing smog-forming emissions by 50% by 2010 in
its latest air management plan. Lastly, today s emissions of
smog-forming pollutants are dramatically lower than they were in the 1980 s because the old power
plants burned oil instead of natural gas and their emissions were
largely uncontrolled.
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