The power plant issue that won't die
Liz Mangelsdorf/The Chronicle
Sup. Maxwell.
Supervisor Sophie Maxwell has made good on her promise to keep the Board of Supervisors involved in decisions surrounding the future of a polluting power plant in Potrero Hill.
On Tuesday, Maxwell introduced a measure that would make it city policy to close the plant at the earliest possible date, and to replace the power generated at the plant with clean resources. It calls on the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to create a plan for doing so.
But the measure goes even further. It sets aggressive clean energy goals for San Francisco, mandating that the city meet 51 percent of its electricity needs with clean resources by 2017; 75 percent by 2030; and 100 percent by 2040.
Those numbers sound familiar, you say? Well, it's because they're exactly what was called for in Proposition H, the public power initiative that voters rejected in November.
At issue is the Mirant Power Plant in Potrero Hill, which was set to close and be replaced with a newer facility that would only run when necessary. But this summer, the mayor and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which regulates the plant, changed their minds, saying it didn't make sense to build a new fossil-fuel burning facility when renewable energy sources are gaining ground.
Maxwell and other supervisors balked at the change, pointing out that they have been working with city officials and the community for years on a plan to close the plant. They also question whether the retrofit will actually lead to acceptable emission reductions.
The board last month killed a measure that would have allowed the mayor to move forward with the proposed retrofit. But state regulators won't let the city shutter the plant without an alternative source of energy in the city's limits. Maxwell is apparently hoping to have the best of both worlds -- a shuttered plant and a new, city-owned clean energy-producing facility -- with this latest legislation.
| Dec 16 at 05:28 PM