Poseidon Water and Orange County Power Authority (OCPA), signed a memorandum o’ understanding (MOU) in order to work together to make Huntington Beach Seawater Desalination Facility entirely powered by renewable energy.
Poseidon’s proposed desalination project in Huntington Beach requires an average steady load of approximately 25 MW, which would make it one of the larger energy users in Orange County. Huntington Beach, a member of OCPA, recently voted in favor of 100% renewable energy for residents and businesses through OCPA. While the project is already guaranteed to have zero-carbon footprint through the state’s carbon offset program, being powered completely by renewable energy would further enhance the facility’s environmental sustainability.
“We’re proud to enter into this MOU with Poseidon Water today and are pleased to see they are dedicated to ensuring the water produced by this state-of-the-art desalination plant will be powered by solar, wind and other renewable sources,” says OCPA Chairman Mike Carroll.
“My fellow Huntington Beach City Council Members and I recently selected 100% renewable energy, through OCPA, as our default plan for customers – taking bold steps to address climate change,” states OCPA’s Board Member and Huntington Beach Mayor Pro Tem Mike Posey. “With this project located in Huntington Beach, I am happy to see that Poseidon Water has also committed to work toward making their project even more sustainable by working with OCPA in an effort to power the desalination plant entirely with renewable energy.”
This MOU was not only signed, but the project also retrofitted its intake pipes with wedge-wire screens to improve its environmental protection. This will reduce marine life impacts. Poseidon Water also committed to preserving and conserving the Bolsa chica wetlands for the future.
“We set a precedent in 2010 by making our proposed Huntington Beach desalination project 100% carbon neutral through our voluntary Energy Minimization & Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan,” comments Scott Maloni, Poseidon Water’s vice president. “However, it has always been our goal to have the project powered entirely by renewable energy if it were feasible to do so and with this MOU in partnership with the OCPA, we’ve shown our commitment to making that a reality.”
The MOU ensures that Poseidon Water (OCPA) and Poseidon Water (POseidon Water) will meet at least monthly in order to reach a binding agreement for the project to be powered entirely with renewable energy sources.