LOS ANGELES — This afternoon, the Los Angeles City Council voted to allow the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to disregard the concerns of Angelenos and environmental advocates and move forward with its ill-conceived plans to retrofit the Scattergood gas plant to be able to burn a mix of hydrogen and natural gas. “LADWP is already falling behind on meeting its mandate to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2035, and instead of deploying clean, renewable energy that we know Angelenos want, it’s doubled down on industry schemes like hydrogen at every turn that keep us dependent on dirty fossil fuels,” said Food & Water Watch Los Angeles Organizing Manager Andrea Vega. “LADWP and our City Councilmembers know that Scattergood will never really be a hydrogen plant and now are proposing moving our city even further away from our climate goals by spending a billion dollars to retrofit a natural gas power plant. Angelenos want and deserve safe, clean air, and affordable energy and today the City Council took a massive step away from that.” In 2022, LADWP announced plans to retrofit the Scattergood Gas Plant to be capable of burning a mix of methane gas and hydrogen. This plant is located near communities like Inglewood, Hawthorne, and Lennox whose air quality has already long been negatively impacted by fossil fuel infrastructure. Despite claims that hydrogen would help the city reach its 100% clean energy by 2035, LADWP and the City Council do not know where this hydrogen will even come from – particularly after the demise of the Angeles Link hydrogen pipeline project, leaving it unlikely Scattergood will ever be a hydrogen plant. Despite major public concern due to the safety risks of hydrogen and its massive water needs, in 2025, LADWP’s Board of Commissioners certified its inadequate Environmental Impact Report for Scattergood. Environmental organizations then appealed to the Los Angeles City Council calling on it to reject LADWP’s environmental review. The City Council rejected that appeal earlier today in a 10-3 vote, with City Councilmembers Yaroslavsky, Raman, and Hernandez all voting to grant the appeal. Councilmember Soto-Martinez recused himself due to investments in hydrogen energy. In explaining her vote, Councilmember Yaroslavsky emphasized that, while “as recently as May of this year, the department publicly committed to reaching 2,220 MW of local solar by 2035, … DWP isn’t close to meeting that goal. … Instead, it is asking this Council to move forward with a brand new billion dollar gas-fired plant less than a decade before the City’s stated goal of a carbon free energy system should be complete.” “Angelenos are increasingly concerned about water reliability given the impacts of climate change, and hydrogen production is incredibly water intensive. Retrofitting LADWP’s Scattergood plant will be an expensive investment in a methane gas plant, as green hydrogen is currently a pipedream that may never materialize—and if it does, hydrogen combustion would strain an already stressed water supply,” said Ben Harris, Senior Staff Attorney, Regulatory Affairs & Legal Policy with Los Angeles Waterkeeper. “There are other options. LA could meet our 100% renewables goal, while preserving grid reliability, with investments in local solar and storage. Focusing our investments on available clean energy technologies would protect both our water and our communities, and grow LA’s green economy with good local jobs.” “Unless and until green hydrogen supply appears in Los Angeles, Scattergood will be a gas plant and a $1 billion city investment in fossil fuels, inconsistent with the city’s climate goals and the city’s commitment to decarbonize. We’re disappointed in this decision today not to direct LADWP to correct the issues with its Environmental Impact Report,” said Julia Dowell, Senior Campaign Organizer, Sierra Club. “There is no indication that LADWP will be able to source hydrogen energy anytime soon, and even if they could, it would be one of the most costly ways to reduce climate pollution at a time when ratepayers need relief.” “As climate disasters continue to threaten and harm public health across our region, it is simply irresponsible for LADWP to be building a new billion dollar gas plant at Scattergood,” said Alex Jasset, Energy Justice Director at Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles. “We were forced into this situation because of DWP’s failure to plan their resources appropriately, and we need to alter course if we’re going to stop even more gas repowering projects from going forward. DWP must double down on renewable investments to ensure we never have to rely on gas, even in emergency situations, which will only become more frequent as we continue to burn methane. PSR-LA remains committed to working with the City to meet its clean energy goals, and we look forward to future discussions about how we can achieve a resilient grid without combustion to advance public health.” “The City Council just hit residents with 50 years of higher rates to pay for a fossil-fueled facility that will be obsolete the day it opens,” said David Pettit, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute. “More affordable, reliable renewable energy can get the job done just as quickly, without cooking our climate and poisoning our air and water.” “Angelenos in power plant communities deserve better than false solutions and $1 billion dollar commitments to natural gas plants. The City Council vote today gives LADWP a free pass to continue abrogating its clean energy commitments,” said Kendall Chappell, a legal fellow at Communities for a Better Environment. “LADWP previously committed to closing the Harbor Generating Station in Wilmington—it has since gone back on that promise, just like it is now going back on its clean energy commitments. As temperatures rise and low-income communities of color continue to suffer from the cumulative impacts of pollution, the answer is not to prioritize investments in fossil fuels.” The groups who appealed are Center for Biological Diversity, Communities for a Better Environment, Food & Water Watch, Los Angeles Waterkeeper, Physicians for Social Responsibility — Los Angeles, and Sierra Club. Featured image by Facewizard (own work), CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
Liked by Parker Roy, Evan King
Liked by Parker Roy, Evan King
Liked by Parker Roy, Evan King
