By Brian CHERNICK

At its Feb. 6 meeting, the Glendale City Council received an update on the environmental impact review for the proposed repowering of the Grayson Power Plant. The meeting attracted hundreds of residents from within and around Glendale who rallied outside city hall to voice their positions on the project.
The drafted report for the $500 million project focused on the expected reduction of carbon monoxide emissions compared to the existing averages by the current Grayson Power Plant. The report, presented by Glendale Water and Power (GWP) general manager Stephen Zurn, highlighted the repowering project’s goal to increase energy sustainability, efficiency, reliability and independence from Los Angeles’ Dept. of Water and Power, while also improving on cost for Glendale’s power grid. Critics of repowering Grayson pointed to the project’s high price tag and continued reliance on fossil fuels in a time when cities should be focusing more on renewables and zero-emission sources.
The city received correspondence from over 1,100 residents during a commenting period, most of which contained a repeated refrain from critics requesting city officials to look more closely into renewable and zero-carbon energy alternatives.
Councilmember Ara Najarian expressed frustration with these requests, stating that Glendale could not reasonably source hydroelectric, wind, geothermal or nuclear energy.
“I don’t know where we are going with this demand for an independent study on renewables,” Najarian said. “It has to be generated in our area because we’ve maxed out on the 200 megawatts that we’re getting from the outside. Where are we going to get it from?”
Dave Tateosian of the engineering consultancy Clean Power Consulting Partners discussed solar roofing as a current and future source of energy, but expressed skepticism of its feasibility stating that, despite lowering the cost of solar paneling, issues with storage and intermittency of power limit the city’s ability to accommodate times of peak load on the grid.
Councilmember Zareh Sinanyan was the lone no-vote to note and file the draft. Sinanyan requested that a motion be passed to conduct an independent study on renewable energy sources; however, other councilmembers encouraged that the final EIR be reviewed before any decisions be made.

Currently the city generates approximately 15MW of power from rooftop solar installations throughout the city. The repowered Grayson Power Plant is expected to provide the city up to 250 MW of power. City officials have argued that the massive overhaul of the aging facility is needed because repairs to the older generators and equipment are unable to keep up with the equipment’s steady decline in reliability and efficiency. Currently seven of the eight generators have been in operation for an average of 57 years and provide power to over 88,000 customers throughout the city.

A final EIR is expected to be completed by the end of the month, allowing it to be reviewed before being considered by councilmembers at the end March.