Alamitos Energy Center

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
Units 1-4 as seen from San Gabriel River Bike Trail in March 2017.
Official nameAlamitos Energy Center
CountryUnited States
LocationLong Beach, California
Coordinates33°46′09″N 118°06′07″W
StatusOperational
Construction beganUnits 1-6: Late 1950s
Block 1: July 2017 [1]
Block 2: Late 2020 (planned) [2]
BESS: June 2019 [1]
Commission dateUnits 1-6: Late 1950s
Block 1: February 7, 2020 [3]
Decommission dateUnits 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 fuelNatural gas
Cooling sourceUnits 3-5: Seawater
Block 1: Atmosphere
Combined cycle?Yes
Power generation
Units operational2 x 320 MW
1 x 480 MW
1 x 640 MW
Units planned1 x 400 MW
Units decommissioned2 x 175 MW
1 x 480
1 x ? MW
Nameplate capacity1,760 MW[4][5]
Annual net output958 GWh (2018) [6]
Storage capacity400 MWh (Early 2021) [7]

Description

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]

Modernization

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]

Decommissioning Units 1-6

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]

Battery Storage Project

A battery facility with a capacity of 400 megawatt-hours was completed in 2021.[14]

See also

References
  1. "AES Alamitos - The Power of Positive Energy (December 23, 2019)". www.renewaesalamitos.com. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  2. "ALAMITOS ENERGY CENTER" (PDF). AES California. 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  3. "More environment-friendly power generators go online in Huntington Beach". Orange County Register. 2020-02-12. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  4. "AES Alamitos, LLC". rtk.rjifuture.org. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  5. "Alamitos Energy Center, Licensing Case - Docket # 2013-AFC-01". ww2.energy.ca.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  6. "Electricity Data Browser - AES Alamitos LLC". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
  7. "ALAMITOS BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE PROJECT" (PDF). AES California. 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  8. "Facilities: Alamitos | AES California". www.aescalifornia.com. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  9. "Alamitos Energy Center, Long Beach, California, USA". Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  10. "AES commissions Alamitos energy storage facility in California, US". NS Energy. 28 January 2021. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021.
  11. "Alamitos Battery Energy Storage Project" (PDF).
  12. Colthorpe, Andy (7 June 2021). "Battery storage as peaking capacity: How Alamitos changed the game for California". Energy Storage News.
  13. Maschke, Alena. "Alamitos Bay's water quality at risk once again, unless the city spends millions to fix it • Long Beach Post News". lbpost.com.
  14. Saltzgaver, Harry (15 February 2021). "Giant Long Beach AES battery storage facility in full operation". Press Telegram.


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