Local group working to convert Morro Bay power plant into desalination plant
–The Morro Bay Ocean Fresh Water coalition (MBOFW), a group of Central Coast advocates, is working to reopen the Morro Bay energy plant as a desalination plant. The plant, owned by Dynergy headquartered in Houston, TX, was closed early in 2014 after 60 years of operation. When the plant closed, reports say the company was investigating the possibility of converting the plant to a wave energy farm that would transfer power to existing transmission lines at the plant and a small scale options for battery storage for solar energy.
The MBOFW has released the results of a recent analysis describing a targeted production capacity of 20 million gallons per day from the plant with a .0065 cent per gallon cost invoiced to distributors. Distribution channels would be city, county and state water districts plus private carriers. The desalination process would be reverse osmosis (RO) membrane filtration.
Thomas P. Lind, Desalination Advocate with MBOFW, said in an email that the group has been working to turn the plant into “100-percent desalination.” The California Water Resources Control Board Public Information Officer, Timothy Moran, said there are eight “desal plants currently operating in the state,” and about another eight desalination projects in the planning or permitting phases. Many of the existing facilities “only operate intermittently when existing water supplies need to be supplemented.” Lind said said the plant is estimated to become operational sometime in 2020, and costs are projected to be as high at $600 million, which would come from private equity funding.
David Byford, External Communications Manager for Dynergy, said that a decision has not been made and that “Dynergy is continuing to look at options for the Morro Bay location.” Assistant San Luis Obispo County Administrative Officer, Guy Savage, said, “The county is unaware of plans at the Morro Bay plant.” Questions to the City of Morro Bay Administrative Office about the city’s participation in developing a desalination plant at the old plant have not yet been answered.
The MBOFW is a group of citizen advocates seeking the exploration, development, and implementation of converting the abandoned Dynergy plant in Morro Bay into an environmental sensitive desalination plant to economically and safely supplementing the county’s and state’s potable water sources. For more information visit the MBOFW website.
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