DWP begins shift away from ocean cooling at power plants
Daily News
09/29/2011
The Department of Water and Power broke ground today on a coastal power project in Long Beach that marks the beginning of an ambitious effort to completely eliminate the use of ocean water to cool its coastal power plants by 2029.
The project will replace two of six power generators at the 1960s-era Haynes Generating Station with six 100-megawatt natural gas combustion turbines. Instead of cooling steam turbines with ocean water, the department will use a process known as "dry cooling," which uses giant radiators similar to the way a car engine is cooled.
The LADWP says the new turbines will allow the city to fire up the local power plant in minutes to meet peak demand on hot days or when power generated outside the region is threatened by wildfires or is down for maintenance. The steam turbines require about 36 hours to reach their maximum power capacity.
"That speed in ramping up and down will help us meet another very important objective -- integrating more renewable energy into our electric grid," LADWP General Manager Ron Nichols said.
"When the wind is blowing strong and delivering power to L.A., we need speed and flexibility to adjust to that power source," he said. "These new generating plants are part of an intricate balancing act to maintain a steady flow of power to our customers."
The entire Haynes Repowering Project is estimated to cost $782 million. The first new units are scheduled to be online by 2013. The $2.2 billion effort to
