• OUR MANAGEMENT
  
  
• OUR MISSION & VISION
  
  
• OUR VALUES
  
  REPOWERING NRG
  
  FACT SHEETS
  
  
• SUBSIDIARIES
  

El Segundo Power POWERING CALIFORNIA WITH NRG

Before   After The repowering project entails replacing the two oldest units with a state-of-the-art, combined cycle power plant.

Modernization of the El Segundo Generating Station will improve the availability, supply and reliability of electric power for the Los Angeles area while maintaining its tradition of being a good neighbor to the coastal communities that surround it. Plant modernization will improve the visual aesthetics of the plant site and add new enhancements that will benefit the community.

While the modernized plant will produce substantially more power, best available emission control technology will reduce air emissions. A switchover to reclaimed water for most in-plant water processes will reduce the use of scarce drinking or potable water. Flows of ocean water, used for condenser cooling, will be capped to minimize impacts on marine organisms.

Supported by the City of El Segundo and local business and community groups, the modernization plan has received preliminary approval by the South Coast Air Quality Management District. A special siting committee of the California Energy Commission (CEC) recommended approval of the project, noting that "No alternative site could meet the project objective of improving the overall enviromental performance and reliability of the electrical generating sector in Southern California and have fewer environmental impacts." The project received final approval from the CEC on February 2, 2005.

The first two generating units of the El Segundo Generating Station were originally built in the 1950s by Southern California Edison Co. Two additional units were added in the 1960s.

In 1998, the station was purchased by El Segundo Power, an NRG subsidiary, as part of the electric industry restructuring that took place in California.

The plant is located in an industrial area of El Segundo, along the coast south of Los Angeles International Airport and just north of Manhattan Beach. The site is adjacent to a Chevron refinery and to a Southern California Edison substation where the electric power is delivered for transmission and distribution.

Currently the El Segundo site has four steam generating units. The modernization project entails replacing the two oldest units with a state-of-the-art, combined cycle power plant. This would consist of two high-efficiency, low emission, natural gas-fired combustion turbines and a single steam turbine powered by heat recovered from the two gas turbine units. This heat recovery process provides additional power without producing additional emissions.

The sophisticated combined-cycle design is the most fuel-efficient gas-fired electric generating technology available, achieving overall fuel-efficiency of about 56.5%, compared to the 29% fuel-efficiency of the units they replace. Together the new generating units will produce about 630 MW of electricity compared to the 350 MW generated by the units they replace.

The new technology selected for this project will help California meet the newly adopted Greenhouse Gases reduction and efficiency goals associated with energy production (as ordered through newly signed legislation in 2006).

The new generating units will be fueled by natural gas, delivered through an existing Southern California Gas Co. pipeline. The use of natural gas produces far lower levels of emissions than other fuels.

The use of best available control technology on the new turbines results in dramatically lower emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC).

For example, while the boilers being replaced produced NOx at a concentration of 80 parts per million (ppm), only 2.0 ppm will be produced by the new gas turbines. Similarly, while the boilers being replaced produced CO at a concentration of 500 ppm, the new turbines will only produce 4 ppm.

Also, emissions of particulate matter (PM10) and oxides of sulfur (SOx) will be much lower per unit of power produced after the project is completed. Annual particulate emissions are expected to be at or below current amounts given anticipated plant operating levels.

Water resources will be preserved with plant modernization. The new generating units will make use of existing pipelines to deliver sea water in a "once through" system for cooling of the steam condensers. Although the modernized plant will produce substantially more power, ocean water use will not increase.

As part of the project, investments in reconfiguring the existing facility to utilize reclaimed water for in-plant processes will be made where feasible.

As a result, with the modernization and the switch to reclaimed water, the plant's use of drinking or potable water will actually decline, reducing the dependency on city water supplies. Scarce potable water resources will mainly be used for drinking, sanitary and fire control purposes, which constitute a small percentage of overall facility water uses.

To address environmental concerns about Santa Monica Bay and marine life, the use of ocean water will be subject to an annual flow cap as well as a seasonal flow cap. This will preserve ocean resources and reduce the effects on marine life.

New federal Clean Water Act provisions, approved on February 16, 2004, set stringent standards for reducing impacts to the ocean from power plants. El Segundo Power will meet the new standards by using one or a combination of compliance methods, which could include control technology, operational changes and habitat restoration projects.

In addition, plant management will study the possibility of using aquatic filter barrier technology to reduce or eliminate marine organisms from the ocean water intake system.

At completion, the plant will provide $5 million in trust to the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission to support the long-term health of Santa Monica Bay. The monies will be used to assess the ecological condition of the Bay and to develop and implement actions to improve the health of the Bay. To date, El Segundo has provided $1 million toward this purpose, with the balance to be delivered upon successful repowering of the facility.

Plant modernization will deliver additional environmental and community benefits as well. The new equipment is physically smaller than the older steam generating units being replaced — improving the visual appearance of the plant for residents and the community at large.

Two large oil storage tanks adjacent to the beach will be removed. New lighting will minimize glare. New landscaping, and the addition of trees to perimeter areas, will create a "greener" overall look.

The modernized El Segundo Generating Station will also improve coastal access and views. Enhancements to the coastal bike path fronting the plant will include new setbacks, native landscaping, viewing benches, and a new sea wall to improve the separation from the beach surroundings.


While all of southern California will benefit from improvements in the electricity supply, the City of El Segundo will benefit directly, collecting an estimated $3 million annually in tax revenues from the modernized power plant. El Segundo Generating Station will remain the City's single largest revenue generator.

Approval of the CEC permit is an important first step in the process. The next step is for El Segundo to obtain a power sale contract to secure construction financing.

To this end, NRG West is actively responding to solicitations for generation and marketing the output of the proposed repowered facility to energy providers in Southern California.