SACRAMENTO—A California Energy Commission Siting Committee has recommended that Duke Energy's proposed 1,060 MW Moss Landing Power Plant project, located in Monterey County, should be given full Commission approval. The $535 million plant will nearly double the capacity of the Monterey Bay plant, which Duke bought from Pacific Gas & Electric in 1998.

California, struggling all summer with power shortages, has not approved any plant expansions since the state deregulated its electricity market in 1998. The plant, if it receives the Commission's approval, will be the state's largest and should be online by 2002.

The Moss Landing project, as proposed by Duke Energy, consists of replacing the existing electrical power generation Units 1-5, a total of 613 MW, which were built in the 1950s and taken out of operation in 1995. Each new combined cycle unit consists of two natural gas-fired combustion turbine generators, two unfired heat recovery steam generators and a reheat, condensing steam turbine generator. Each of these units will use seawater for once-through cooling. It will also upgrade the existing gas-fired turbines to make them cleaner and more efficient. If approved, the project will increase the total generating capacity of the Moss Landing plant to approximately 2,590 MW. The added power will be generated by two natural-gas generating turbines that will reduce pollution by 80% from historical levels.

The plant will generate enough power for more than 2 million homes in Central California and the San Francisco Bay area. It will produce more electricity than either the Diablo Canyon or San Onofre nuclear plants.