AES plant operations extended two more years, over council protest

AES Redondo Beach Power plant
AES power plant. By Chelsea Sektnan

It will not close for at least another two years.

The end of operations for the AES power plant, first designated for 2020, then extended by a year, was delayed again Tuesday, until Dec. 31, 2023 by the California Water Resources Control board. 

The plant remains operating as a backup system because of concerns about future energy shortages that arose from a heat wave last August.

The water board vote Tuesday was 5-0.

“And they absolutely set the table for more extensions,” said Redondo Beach mayor Bill Brand.

He and city council members testified at the meeting. 

“It’s demoralizing for all of us,” said Councilmember Todd Loewenstein. “I don’t know any right-minded person who doesn’t want that shut down.”

“They did not listen to a single thing we said,” Councilman Zein Obagi said.

The long hoped-for chance to redevelop the 51-acre waterfront AES site now stays on hold. The original 10-year plan to close the plant was established in 2010, due to damage to marine life from cooling it with sea water.

Last year’s extension caused the city to lose out on state grant efforts for parkland purchasing — a main city goal for the site. 

“This now delays starting the process for an additional three years,” Councilman Christian Horvath said. 

The AES property is owned by developer Leo Pustinikov, 36, who leases the plant back to AES as it continues operation. 

Pustinikov, a partner in SLH Investments, Los Angeles, previously sought city support for the extensions. In exchange he offered the city  25 acres of the site for use as open space, though it would remain privately-owned and controlled. But the city would like the plant closed as soon as possible, and wants to own the acreage outright. 

Open space in the deal was defined as parks, lawns, plazas, pedestrian areas, recreational space and parking lots. 

Zoning changes for the industrial site will require approval by Redondo Beach voters. 

California’s water-cooled power plants were originally set to close by 2020.

What happens to the AES site after its lifespan as a power plant remains up for debate. 

The matter came up again at the Oct. 12 Redondo city council meeting. 

“I’m very concerned,” said Loewenstein. “How are we gonna go in front of the state water board as a unified front with two of us possibly against (the plan for parkland). And two of my fellow council members wanting (housing) density there.”

Horvath responded, saying the statement was “outrageous.”

He said he and Councilmember Laura Emdee only want equitable distribution of housing units in the city. 

“I think we are all on the same page, I think we all would like to see (parkland too).”

“You obviously don’t want to get along…” Emdee said in response to Loewenstein.  “To say that we’re the ones who are the problem is really disingenuous.”

Mayor Brand then weighed in.

“For future uses we are not on the same page,” he said. “… We’re 11,000 housing units per square mile, we’re parks-poor.”

“We were told that a developer would request residential…” said Horvath.

“Of course we all love parks,” said Emdee, saying that it’s a question of putting the bulk of required new affordable housing in District Five, or instead, for some to eventually go at the AES site. 

“If it’s a choice, District Five doesn’t want all the units there,” she said.

The  issue will remain on hold until 2023, if not longer.

Applied Energy Services (AES) was formed in 1981. In 1988, it became the first independent power producer in the U.S., with three co-generation plants — in Placerita, Calif., Beaver Valley, Penn. and Deepwater, Texas. The company went public in 1991, and expanded internationally a year later. 

The AES Redondo property includes the massive, concrete art deco building with the Waylan whales mural. Property northwest of the plant, leading up to the King Harbor/Redondo Beach at Pacific Coast Highway, and then east on 190th Street, is a right-of-way for Southern California Edison power lines.

The California Coastal Commission has stated that whatever else happens to the AES property, at least six acres will be restricted for use as wetlands. ER

 

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