The Alamitos Energy Center (AEC), formerly AES Alamitos, is a natural gas-fired power station located in Long Beach, California. It is the second largest power station in California.
Alamitos Energy Center | |
---|---|
Official name | Alamitos Energy Center |
Country | United States |
Location | Long Beach, California |
Coordinates | 33°46′09″N 118°06′07″W / 33.76917°N 118.10194°W |
Status | Operational |
Construction began | Units 1-6: Late 1950s Block 1: July 2017 [1] Block 2: Late 2020 (planned) [2] BESS: June 2019 [1] |
Commission date | Units 1-6: Late 1950s Block 1: February 7, 2020 [3] |
Decommission date | Units 1, 2, 6: December 31, 2019 Units 3-5: December 31, 2020 (planned) [1] |
Construction cost | $ 400 Million (Modernization)[2] |
Owner(s) | AES Corporation |
Operator(s) | AES Corporation |
Thermal power station | |
Primary fuel | Natural gas |
Cooling source | Units 3-5: Seawater Block 1: Atmosphere |
Combined cycle? | Yes |
Power generation | |
Units operational | 2 x 320 MW 1 x 480 MW 1 x 640 MW |
Units planned | 1 x 400 MW |
Units decommissioned | 2 x 175 MW 1 x 480 1 x ? MW |
Nameplate capacity | 1,760 MW[4][5] |
Annual net output | 958 GWh (2018) [6] |
Storage capacity | 400 MWh (Early 2021) [7] |
Alamitos Energy Center was originally built in the 1950s by Southern California Edison and consisted of seven natural gas-fired generating units that were cooled using a seawater once-through cooling system. Units 1 and 2 generated 175 MW each, units 3 and 4 generated 320 MW each, and units 5 and 6 generate 480 MW each. Unit 7 generated an unknown amount of electricity and was decommissioned at an unknown date.[4][5][8] The AES Corporation purchased the power station from Southern California Edison in 1998.[9]
On December 27, 2013, AES submitted an application to the California Energy Commission to modernize the existing power station. The project consists of a 640 MW combined cycle gas turbine (Block 1) and a 400 MW simple cycle gas turbine (Block 2), both of which use air-cooled condensers for cooling.[5] The project also includes the construction of a 100 MW, 400 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS).[7] Construction began in June 2017.[1]
Block 1 was constructed between July 2019 and January 2020, and was commissioned on February 7, 2020. Block 2 is planned to be constructed between late 2020 and mid 2022. Construction of the battery energy storage system (BESS) began in June 2019,[2] and was complete in early 2021.[10][11][12]
As part of the modernization project, all six operating units and the retired Unit 7 will be demolished. Units 1, 2, and 6 were decommissioned on December 31, 2019. Units 3-5 have a retirement date of December 31, 2020. However, in late 2019, AES submitted an application to the California Energy Commission to continue to operate units 3-5 for an additional 1 to 3 years. If approved, demolition of units 3-5 will be delayed for an additional 1 to 3 years.[1]
The water quality in the Alamitos Bay could be degraded by the decommissioning of the Alamitos Energy Center pumps. The City of Long Beach is assessing a replacement for these pumps to maintain the bay's water circulation.[13]
A battery facility with a capacity of 400 megawatt-hours was completed in 2021.[14]