The Otay Mesa Energy Center opened in October.

The Otay Mesa Energy Center (OMEC) has been in operation since the beginning of October, but its official unveiling will come this week. County Supervisor Greg Cox will be on hand for the ceremony on Thursday.

“It’s nice to see something that’s environmentally responsible being built in San Diego to produce energy that this region desperately needs,” Cox said.

The OMEC project has been in the process of permitting, financing and construction for over a decade. The plant has the capacity to generate 600 megawatts and is considered one of the most environmentally-friendly power plants in the state. Unlike the South Bay Power Plant, OPEC will use 100 percent natural gas to fuel the plant. OMEC will also be state’s largest air-cooled facility. Air-cooling is often the preferred alternative to water-cooling, which can have adverse effects on the environment, specifically marine life. Both the Encina and South Bay power plants use the water-cooling technique.

“The OMEC will play an important role in our long-term energy resource plan that includes aggressive energy efficiency programs, more renewable power, local generation and new transmission lines,” said Debra L. Reed, President and CEO of SDG&E.

SDG&E has a 10-year tolling with the plant, allowing them to use power from the plant and provide OPEC with natural gas.

In order to build the plant, the developer, Calpine, needed to complete a condition of approval program that mandated they purchase “emission reduction credits.” They did so by paying for the retrofitting of local marine vessels and sanitation vehicles with better and more efficient technology. According to Calpine, the emissions credit program more than covers the plant’s emissions.

“The air is actually cleaner then it would be otherwise as a result of this project,” said Cox.

OMEC could also mean the eventual closure of the South Bay Power Plant, which local officials and residents often refer to as an “eyesore.” According to Cox, the Independent System Operator’s (ISO) decision to shut off two of South Bay’s generators at the end of this year was predicated on the fact that the Otay Mesa Plant was coming online. But Cox said he can’t say whether the South Bay plant will be shut down completely within the next two years—that decision is up to the ISO.

The ISO has been hesitant to commit to the full closure of the plant because it says energy the plant produces is still needed. A study is being conducted to determine whether the last of the two units will run in 2011. Local officials hope the OMEC plant will prove to be the first step towards the closure of the South Bay plant.

“It’s  nice a state-of-the-art power plant is being built in the South Bay and it will be even nicer to see the South Bay Power Plant completely demolished, and this is the first step towards doing that,” said Cox.

                                        

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