GE to upgrade 1,054-MW combined cycle plant in Southern California

General Electric announced recently that its Power Generation Services subsidiary has entered into an agreement to modernize Southern California Edison’s Mountainview Generating Station, which generates enough electricity for 685,000 homes. 

Situated at San Bernardino and Mountain View avenues north of Interstate 10, it is a combined cycle power plant, meaning that it uses both natural gas and steam turbines to generate electricity. GE will begin installing new technology in 2016, and the project will be completed in May, 2017.

GE says its technologies will boost the 1,054-MW station’s output by about 48 MW. One MW will serve 650 homes, according to experts. In addition, it is expected to reduce startup times, require less down time for maintenance, and reduce emissions without increasing water consumption.

The Mountainview station went online in December 2005 on the site of an existing plant that had been sold by Edison in 1998 during a period of deregulation. It repurchased the property while the existing plant was under construction in 2003. In September, 2013, Environment California called Mountainview the top carbon-emitting plant in the state, and the group’s report prompted the Sierra Club to organize a protest at the site.

GE’s Remote Monitoring & Diagnostics Center in Atlanta will keep track of data from Mountainview to ensure compliance, according to the news release.