One of our favorite things to do on weekends is go to the beach, and as much as possible, we try to find new beaches every time we go out… This weekend, we drove down to Monterey, mainly to go to the Aquarium, but then to travel up Route 1 to visit a few beaches… Kate had previously visited Moss Landing, and told me how cool it was… In fact- it is a really nice area- but with one obvious BIG problem… The Moss Landing Power Plant. See photo above…
The Power plant generates 560MW of electricity , and was built in 1949 right in the middle of
Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, which is home to seals (and other marine mammals), otters, birds (includes nesting grounds for the federally listed Snowy Plover), salmon and other fish… Oh, one last thing, the migration path of great whales takes them right through all this crap…
The power plant releases 900,000 tons of CO2, 60 tons of NOx and 4 tons of SO2 into the atmosphere yearly, and 1.2 billion gallons of hot water (50C) DAILY into the ocean. The Plant has long contended that the emissions are minimal , and that their effects are not likely to significant, but one might say that building a huge power plant right in the middle of sensitive and rare habitat might not be the best idea.. Ok, so maybe they didn’t realize all this 60 years ago- but we sure do realize it not- so why not phase this plant out???? Why do we continue to operate it? Will darkness fall upon San Francisco if we did?
I have an idea- let’s close this plant- and with the build a wind-farm instead… Use the money spent in operating this monster, and supplement this with tax money. I certainly would be willing to support the closure of this plant with $$$. I bet a lot of others would as well… I wonder how much support there is for this. Wind farms might not be perfect, but they sure are better then the old fashioned power plants we currently have..
So anyway, the beach was nice, there was kids (including my own) playing, the usual sunbathers, and people sleeping, surfers, and shell collectors.. One thing that struck me however was the small. Now this was not the normal beachy smell- it was different. At 1st it smalled like dog shit, but then something else.. It was not pleasant, but thankfully the wind was blowing the the smell away from us. But that’s just the problem- the environmental impact of power plants aren’t readily observed. It’s not like a dump where you go out and see garbage all over- and consequently, people don’t associate the power plant with environmental impact. The types of changes you are likely to see include the abnormal distribution of plants and animals, invasive species, increased mortality, or perhaps reduced clutch sizes in birds. Regardless of weather you see changes or not, it seems entirely impossible that this huge power plant built on top of critically sensitive habitat does not have massive effects… Worst of all, there is really nothing we can do about it- short of demanding change.. We cannot pick up trash and hope animals return… It’s just not that easy.
So I contend that one is not likely to be able to observe the impact power plants have on their immediate surroundings- but maybe I’m wrong. Remember that smell??? It was caused by THIS:
Coincidence?? Maybe, maybe not….
11 responses so far ↓
1 Kevin Z // Jul 30, 2007 at 4:50 am
Having lived in Monterey between 2001-2002 and visiting Moss Landing, I can attest that there is public support for removing the power station. Write the local papers!
I’m not so sure about windmills as the answer though. Elkhorn is part of a major flyway, I worry that the windmills would pose a threat to migrating birds. The last I remember hearing on the windmill-bird debate in the literature stills says that windmills cause migrating bird fatalities. But I haven’t kept up with the literature and don’t know about any new developments.
Regardless of windmills, whoever decided to built the power plant there was a moron, or I guess environmental and human health issues were just in their infancy or unknown in 1949. Then again no one predicted the growth in population then that we have now. Moss Landing in 1949 I can imagine seemed pretty remote and the bay area needs its precious power.
2 Monterey Bay Native // Aug 24, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Kevin z your OK. Matt, your an idiot.
Lets see, first, the Moss Landing Power Plant has the capacity to produce 2,550 meggawatts (mw’s)+/-, enough electricity to power approx. 2.5 million homes.
Lets tear the place down and replace it with a wind farm. OK.
The largest wind generators can produce 5 mw’s and must stand about 300′ tall in order to accommodate a blade diameter of 413′. To replace the plant will require 510 of these. Blade tip to blade tip in a straight line will require 40 miles. How about we start in your backyard and stretch them down the Skyline Highway towards Santa Cruz. That way they can be enjoyed by everyone traveling highway #1 and highway 280.
(http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/08/largest_wind_tu.php)
How about Solar Thermal Generation?
A field of 600 mirrors, each mirror the size of two large billboards, pointed at a tower standing 40 stories high. (acreage unknown) During the day it can produce 11 mw’s. We will only have to build 232 of these 40 story towers requiring, at minimum, enough acreage to accommodate the array of 139,200 mirrors needed to power the 232 towers. Too bad it’s foggy a lot in Moss Landing. You could, maybe fit one or two of these on the existing plant site though the glare could be a distraction to travelers & whale watchers alike.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6616651.stm)
How about Photovoltaic?
Again, produces 11 mw’s and covers an area of 150 acres. Do you have an extra 34,773 acres in your sunny backyard?
(http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/partner/story?id=44745)
Hate to ruin the view, but what about Wave Power? Go to web site.
We can plant these puppies along the 840 miles of California coast like a WWII mine field. You can sit at Nepenthe’s on the Big Sur coast and watch power being generated while you munch down a $12 burger and drink your latte.
(http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/05/wave_energy_par.php)
It’s wonderful that these sources do not emit greenhouse gasses but, the shear volume of land, air, and ocean space that these alternative energy sources would currently require could also have an effect on wildlife. Ya Think!!!!!
Actually we are not too far apart. I say tear the power plant down. Perhaps the 2.5 million people the facility serves will pack up and move back to whatever coal burning state they came from.
Green starts at home. Start conserving energy by turning off your computer and stop posting this type of uninformed dribble.
Monterey Bay Native
PS. If a picture is taken of a dead dog in the road with a Wal-Mart in the background does that mean the dog was killed by a Wal-Mart Shopper? Maybe, maybe not.
3 Matt // Aug 24, 2007 at 8:53 pm
Nice piece of work there M.B.N… Replace my “unreasonable” solution with your “UNREASONABLE” solution… Perfect..
As I see it- our current fossil fuel burning ways are much more unreasonable than either of those 2 ideas… Instead of bitching about why alternative energy sources don’t work, why not think about ways to make them more feasible?
4 MBN // Aug 25, 2007 at 8:28 am
Morning Matt, Chalk up some of what I said to a bad day & a twisted sense of humor. My point is that you cannot tear down a critical piece of California’s infrastructure without having something reasonable to replace it with. I’m all for alternative energy, it works. The technology will improve and, with that, the costs will go down allowing more individuals to upgrade their homes to green. I can tell you first hand that there is nothing cooler than watching your electrical meter running backwards, but the initial outlay is not yet affordable to everyone. I’m not a big fan of Government telling us what to do but, building Green should be mandatory on all future houses / housing developments / new buildings in the state. Currently Californians use 35k to 40k mw’s daily & existing alternative energy sources can only provide a fraction of whats needed.
5 Joe SportBikeMan Nichols // Oct 20, 2007 at 1:08 am
so if u want moss landing shutdown and dont want windmills what do u propose to so about 2550 megawats of power we would loose. where would we get it? and at what cost??? and as a citizen of the bay area i resent the insinuation that the bay area is the only region that uses the power generated from moss landing.
6 kurtislee // Mar 14, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Say guys, the MLPP uses Natural Gas NOT fossil fuel (wikipedia). It is as clean as it can be, seeing how it DOES have a capicity to 2250 MWs. As MBN stated, how about looking at your own useage to help lessen the impact of power plants. I am mostly concerned about the high temp water that’s discharged into the Bay daily. That is a threat to the wildlife. They need cooling ponds to allow the water to reach ambient temperature before discharge.
7 kurtislee // Mar 14, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Oh, BTW folks. I keep sevferal boats at Moss Landing Harbor. I am directly effected by the MLPP. If there was any other way to produce power for the Monterey/Salinas Area, I’d be all for it. But, as MBN said….alternatives aren’t there yet. Why don’t you all devote your energy getting your legislature to spend money on alternatives researech instead of OIL COMPANIES COMPANIES. That 15 Billion we give the Oil Companies for “research” couls go a long way in development of battery powered cars, and alternative transportation. Of course the Billion dollars a day we’re using to kill Iraqis could be better spent as well….
8 kurtislee // Mar 14, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Oh and Matt…the water is 40 degrees F not C… 50 degree C is 122 F..get your “facts” straight before making big noises. My partner and I are the ones who busted them for the hot water discharges. When you make ridiculous statements like that, it makes the environmental movement look stupid.
9 Terri B. // Apr 14, 2008 at 10:43 am
Great comments and information here!
My 2 cents:
It seems a lot of folks are cruising (in their fossil fuel burning vehicles) up and down our lovely coast and then complaining about a power plant (burning clean natural gas) that provides them with the power to run the computer where they can then post their complaint about the power plant! Hello!
The plant needs cold water for cooling. I suppose they could have constructed it in the middle of the desert somewhere…oh…guess that wouldn’t have worked because there isn’t a whole lot of water out there. I agree that the warm water discharge (50C is what I read) is undesirable, but I think that the upwelling of cold water from the offshore trench may counteract this quite nicely.
One other thing: the ocean is heating up due to greenhouse gases, not the PG&E power plant in Moss Landing, California. Greenhouse gases (the biggest contributors of which are auto emissions and coal) warm the ocean and when water molecules heat up, they expand…water is funny that way. The oceans will rise more from warmer waters than from polar icecaps adding to the volume.
So….take your bicycle down to the 7-11 for that 1/2 gallon of milk. Rethink the necessity of that road trip. HOW MANY OF YOU COMMUTE WITH SOMEONE? Get together and ban dirt bikes and leaf blowers and cruise ships. Hell, people! Let’s focus on things that contribute to the problem without providing much of anything other than our own selfish amusement. Why aren’t we going after the auto manufacturers for continuing to build and sell cars that get 15 MPG highway?
Earth Day is April 19th. How many are signed up for an event to make a difference? I know for a fact that PG&E has events scheduled all over California. Actions speak louder than words was what I was taught.
End of my 2 cents.
Terri B.
10 brad // Jun 15, 2008 at 12:04 am
If you are so concerned, turn your computer off. All existing methods of generating power have some impact. The plant at moss landing is one of the more efficient ones out there right now. I suggest dropping out of society as a solution. Get a solar kit. Stop paying PG&E. They will stop making electricity. It’s that simple.
11 brad // Jun 15, 2008 at 12:10 am
Really. The only real solution is to stop paying PG&E. It’s not these big companies you despise as much as your own contribution to a destructive system.
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