The Encina Power Station (EPS) was a large

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

and

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

-fueled electricity generating plant located in

Carlsbad Carlsbad may refer to: *Carlsbad, California, United States *Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States *Carlsbad, Texas, United States *Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, in

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...

. Constructed in 1954, it was one of the major suppliers of electricity for the region. On December 11, 2018, the plant was put into "retired" status and officially stopped operations. Under an agreement approved by

NRG Energy NRG Energy, Inc. is an American energy company, headquartered in Houston, Texas. It was formerly the wholesale arm of Northern States Power Company (NSP), which became Xcel Energy, but became independent in 2000. NRG Energy is involved in energ ...

SDG&E San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) provides natural gas and electricity to San Diego County and southern Orange County in southwestern California, United States. It is owned by Sempra, a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Di ...

and the City of Carlsbad in January 2014, NRG must tear down the old plant within three years of its retirement. The plant is owned by

Location

EPS sits on the southern shore of the outer segment of the

Agua Hedionda Lagoon The Agua Hedionda Lagoon ("agua hedionda" means "fetid water" in Spanish) is a lagoon in Carlsbad, California, that is fed by the Agua Hedionda Creek. Stewardship of much of the lagoon is held by the Encina Power Station and its owner NRG En ...

; once a stinking pool at low tide, it was opened to a continuous tidal flow to create a cooling system that was constructed along with the plant. Now home to blue herons, ibises, and a multitude of aquatic life, the lagoon is attached to the ocean and other waterways through rising tide levels and various small creeks. The lagoon served as EPS' source for its

once-through cooling Cooling tower and water discharge of a nuclear power plant Water cooling is a method of heat removal from components and industrial equipment. Evaporative cooling using water is often more efficient than air cooling. Water is inexpensive and non ...

and is also owned by NRG Energy. In 2015, Connecticut-based Poseidon Resources Corp. constructed a US$300 million water-

desalination plant Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in soil desalination, which is an issue for agriculture. Saltwa ...

at the site, adjacent to the power plant. The facility was designed to produce of drinking water per day, enough to supply about 100,000 homes.

Retirement

NRG had announced plans to expand the Encina Power Station with the construction of a new 588-megawatt plant on a plot of land adjacent to the current site. This has been met with considerable political opposition by local homeowners and environmentalists. The City of Carlsbad issued an injunction against the construction of a new plant, but as of the summer of 2010 plans for the new plant were still moving forward. The closing of

San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) is a permanently closed nuclear power plant located south of San Clemente, California, on the Pacific coast, in Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region IV. The plant was shut down in 2013 after repla ...

(SONGS) about 30 miles north led to city officials approving the new state-of-the-art power plant in January 2014. As of May 2014, a gas-fired facility will sit adjacent to the Encina Power Station and eventually replace the 400-ft smokestack. In May 2015, plans to modify the plant to a natural gas facility were approved by the Public Utilities Commission; construction is planned to begin in 2016. On December 11, 2018, the plant ceased power generating operations and has been demolished . It was replaced by a 530 megawatt peaker plant known as the Carlsbad Energy Center.

References

{{Reflist Energy infrastructure completed in 1954 Buildings and structures in San Diego County, California Natural gas-fired power stations in California Oil-fired power stations in California Carlsbad, California NRG Energy