State unplugs Oxnard power plant plan

Thursday, December 20, 2018

OXNARD, Calif. -- The California Energy Commission has pulled the plug on plans for a new power plant on Oxnard's coast.

The commission made the decision after NRG Energy said they didn't see a viable path forward with the project.

NRG wanted to build the Puente Power Project.

NRG would have built it in the existing Mandalay Generating Station, which closed earlier in the year.

The California Public Utilities Commission had given the green light to the 262-megawatt Puente project.

Opposition from the city of Oxnard and social justice organizations killed the project.

Business leaders and construction unions were in favor of the power plant. Now the city of Oxnard is looking at legal options for demolishing it.

NRG officials say without a new power plant the company doesn't have the money to pay for the demolition.