About The Project
Power of Vision is a group of knowledgeable and concerned Carlsbad residents, many of them longtime civic leaders and volunteers, who oppose NRG Energy’s proposal before the California state coastal and energy commissions to build additional power units on the site of the Encina Power Station.

Power of Vision is led by Julie Baker, a member and past chair of the city’s Planning Commission, and includes as members former City Council member and current Planning Commission Julie Nygaard and past council contenders Hope Wrisley and Thomas K. Arnold. Another charter member is UCLA and Cal State Northridge professor emeritus Arnold Roe, who spent the early years of his engineering career designing and building power plants in South America, Greece and Turkey.

Power of Vision is concerned about the continued blight on our precious coastline of the Encina power plant, and plans by NRG Energy to significantly increase the site’s industrial use by building additional power units.

“This is the wrong plant, at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Baker says. “The citizens of Carlsbad have been good regional citizens. There is no reason to build a new, ugly polluting power plant on a valuable coastal resource—especially not in our front yard.”

Power of Vision believes:

• A power plant of any sort represents a poor use of coastal land, particularly now that power plants no longer need ocean water for cooling and thus can be located elsewhere. Industry does not belong on the coast. Ideally we would like to see the existing plant removed and the coastal acreage it occupies used for the greater public good.

• NRG Energy’s proposal to build a new 558-megawatt power plant adjacent to the existing 50-year-old plant would only intensify the industrial usage of this 95-acre parcel of land across Carlsbad Boulevard from the ocean. The power company also plans to add an addition 279 megawatts to the site some time in the future. All of this poses a litany of aesthetic, noise, environmental and health concerns.

• We also have serious concerns about the need for additional power plants on Encina. The existing plant, with a capacity of 965 megawatts, only operates at 8% of capacity—and this is likely to decrease, as a recent Wall Street Journal article notes that demand for power is going down, not up. In addition, the California Energy Commission maintains interconnectivity, rather than building new plants, is the best way to address future regional power needs. And then there is the big push toward solar and other clean, green and renewable sources of energy. Why take a step back?

• Therefore, we believe the NRG project, which is subject to California Coastal Commission and California Energy Commission approval, should be stopped.

• NRG argues that if the project is not approved, Carlsbad residents will be stuck with the existing plant for another 50 years. We believe technology has already rendered the existing plant obsolete and it is only a matter of time before it will be decommissioned; in the meantime, we would rather see the existing plant continue to operate than have three new power units constructed on the property.

Power of Vision plans to rally public support behind opposition to NRG’s expansion plans through a petition drive, letter-writing campaigns and other mechanisms. The group cites the successful drive to stop the toll road in south Orange County as an example of what public sentiment can accomplish.

“Why, when energy use is decreasing, citizens are conserving, the news every day is filled with dire warnings about carbon emissions and global warming, would we want this new source of carbon pollution in our community?” Baker asks. “Why is this even being allowed by the State of California that says it is concerned about greenhouse gasses?”

It’s a question of land use, Baker adds. “It is not appropriate to locate a large, polluting industrial use on nearly 100 acres of prime coastal property that could be used for the benefit of the people,” she says. “548 megawatts is enough power to light up 400,000 homes. Why so big, why in Carlsbad?”

City of Carlsbad
Carlsbad Connected
Calif. Energy Commission
Carlsbad Energy Center

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