Quail Brush Public Workshop Cancelled

The California Energy Commission has cancelled a public workshop on the Quail Brush power plant project originally scheduled for Friday, June 29 at West Hills High School in Santee.

The workshop was cancelled after the Cogentrix  Energy LLC, which is seeking permits to build a 100-megawatt natural-gas-fired  power plant, missed a June 22 deadline for filing supplemental project information with the commission.

Commission officials said the additional information was to include details about a revised design aimed at addressing concerns raised by the public and the city of Santee, including the visual impact of the plant on the surrounding open space.

Commission officials decided the public would be better informed if the workshop takes place after Cogentrix unveils details of the proposed redesign, which requires complex re-engineering that isn’t finished yet. The commission issued a statement saying the hearing would be rescheduled when Congentrix files information on the revised design.

Cogentrix has indicated it is working on a redesign aimed at lessening the plant’s visual impact by consolidating the original 11 smokestacks that would be 100 feet tall into two clusters that would be about 70 feet tall.

The proposed plant would occupy about 11 acres of a 21.6-acre parcel near the Sycamore Landfill near Santee’s western boundary with the city of San Diego.