Californian utility Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has decided to phase out of the 776 MW Scattergood, 1,739 MW Haynes, and 371 MW Harbor gas-fired power plants between 2024 and 2029. The three assets, which have a total capacity of nearly 2.9 GW, are located on the coastline and LADWP is required to eliminate the use of ocean water for cooling at the power plants by 2029, which requires rebuilding and modernising them. The company has decided to scrap its modernisation plans and to shut the plants down instead: the Scattergood plant will be retired by 2024, while Haynes and Harbor would go offline by 2029.
Operations at the three power plants will be abandoned in favor of renewable energy sources, which will help the city reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. This announcement comes a few months after the state's lawmakers passed a bill requiring California to source 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2045, up from a previous target of 50% renewables by 2030.