Oxnard—The City Council, on Tuesday, November 18, agreed to a transition plan toward battery storage, with a date-certain closure of the Ormond Beach Power Plant and a $45 million corporate investment in South Oxnard.
City Manager Alex Nguyen presented the plan, saying it will convert the plant from a power plant to a battery storage plant.
The agreement establishes a South Oxnard-based legal aid program to serve low-income residents in immigration, housing, and employment rights, and creates a public facility serving South Oxnard.
“The power plant is currently open and was scheduled to close in 2020,” he said. “Because of the electricity reliability needs of California’s grid, the State extended the operations of the grid in 2020 for three years.”
The State found itself in a similar situation in the 2023 closure schedule and extended it again.
“The power plant is up for closure at the end of 2026; however, the state may extend it again,” he said. “If that occurs, we can see ourselves in 2029, facing a similar dilemma.”
Owner-operator GenOn has come up with a proposal, which, as they transition to a battery storage facility, he said, they will achieve a date-certain closure schedule.
“If we…
