Proposed Riverside County Power Plant Accepted For Review

Sacramento, CA - The California Energy Commission recently accepted an application for a proposed power plant that could provide standby power in times of high electricity demand.

By a vote of 4-0, the Commission accepted the CPV Sentinel Energy Project as data adequate, meaning it has enough information to begin a yearlong licensing process.

Energy Commission Vice Chairman James D. Boyd and Chairman Jackalyne Pfannenstiel as presiding member and associate member, respectively, will make up the committee overseeing the 12-month review -- assuring that requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act are met.

The CPV Sentinel Energy Project, a $440 million simple-cycle plant is being proposed for Commission approval by the private, Silver Spring, Maryland-based Competitive Power Ventures, Inc

The 850-megawatt, natural gas-fired project would be built on 37 acres in unincorporated Riverside County near Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs. The planned project is adjacent to a Southern California Edison substation off State Route 62.

If approved by the Commission, the project would be constructed over an 18-month period. The project plans to fire up the first five of eight turbines by March of 2010.The final three are expected to operate two months later that year.

But once built, the CPV Sentinel Energy Project would remain idle until it is called upon to ramp up quickly when electricity demand is high in a region that continues to grow and strains the electricity grid during the hot summer months. Southern California Edison has agreed to buy the power generated by five of the turbine units, with other load serving entities expected to procure the power produced by the three remaining units.

Throughout the project's 12-month licensing process, the Energy Commission will conduct public workshops and hearings to determine whether the facility should be approved for construction and operation and under what set of conditions. More information on the CPV Sentinel Energy Project is available at: http://www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/sentinel

Since deregulation occurred in 1998, the Energy Commission has licensed or given small power plant exemptions to 63 power plants, totaling 23,549 MW. Thirty-six licensed power plants are in operation, producing 12,910 MW. Since Gov. Schwarzenegger took office, 18 of these power plants, totaling 6,913 MW, have been approved. In addition, 18 power plant projects are active in the Energy Commission's review process, representing 6,654 MW. More information on Energy Commission power plant projects is available at: http://www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/all_projects.html

SOURCE: The California Energy Commission