Following a unanimous vote by members of California’s State Water Resources Control Board, the lives of four aging natural gas plants that have been facing retirement for a decade have been extended, according to Reuters.
The decision follows a 2019 analysis that identified a potential electricity capacity shortfall beginning in the summer of 2021. The vote comes on the heels of rolling blackouts that took place throughout the state in August.
The plants are located along the Southern California coast in Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Oxnard, and Redondo Beach, according to the Los Angeles Times. The decision has sparked controversy due to pollution concerns near coastal residences.
“The decision doesn’t come easy,” said Joaquin Esquivel, board chair. “We do know that these have critical impacts in communities.”
The facilities were scheduled to shut down by Dec. 31, 2020 due a regulation requiring coastal power plants to stop
