DWP Announces Plan to Near Mayor’s ‘Green’ Power Target

By David Zahniser COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

The Department of Water and Power unveiled a plan Wednesday to obtain “green” power through a new transmission line that will help the agency come within striking distance of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s goal for obtaining 20 percent of the city’s electricity from renewable sources.

Villaraigosa said the DWP will spend $240 million on the construction of a transmission line from Los Angeles to the Salton Sea, where environmentally friendly geothermal and solar power will be produced.

The mayor said the initiative would allow the DWP to obtain 15 percent of its power from renewable sources within five years. Because the mayor’s goal is 20 percent, DWP officials are still searching for other energy sources to meet the 2010 deadline.

“We’re making a major step forward in our effort to shift away from the outdated fossil fuels of the past, like dirty coal,” Villaraigosa said.

Proponents of the new transmission line, known formally as the Green Path project, said it will improve the reliability of Southern California’s power supply while expanding the DWP’s portfolio of renewable energy.

Steam generated by underground geothermal fields near the Salton Sea should be financially competitive with natural gas, in part because it is less interruptible than solar or wind power, said DWP General Manager Ron Deaton. He said rates may not increase.

The plan was unveiled one day after Villaraigosa’s appointees on the DWP commission voted to spend up to $239 million on a wind- generated power project in Kern County, which would also edge the agency toward the mayor’s 20 percent goal.

The Green Path project is being carried out by the DWP in a partnership with the Imperial Irrigation District — the largest transmitter of geothermal energy in the United States — and Citizens Energy, a nonprofit corporation that provides financial assistance to low-income residents who need help paying their electrical bills.

“Frankly, this is something some people in the energy business don’t want you to know about,” said Councilman Tony Cardenas, who heads the council committee that oversees the DWP.