By ERIC HE
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council adopted an ordinance Wednesday that moves forward on a controversial plan to shift the Scattergood Generating Station, a power plant in Playa del Rey, to be powered by green hydrogen instead of natural gas.
The council had voted in December to authorize a competitive bid proposal process for the estimated $800 million plan, over the objections of some environmental groups concerned about the impact of green hydrogen on the climate and lack of transparency from officials. But it did not garner enough votes to skip a second vote for final approval.
The second consideration was initially scheduled prior to the winter recess, but the item was delayed twice with new council members joining in between the two readings.
The vote on Wednesday was 12-0, but some council members expressed concern about the proposed project. Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, chair of the council’s energy committee, said she remained skeptical and was only reluctantly moving the process ahead.
Yaroslavsky said that the council was taking the vote without being fully aware of the project’s environmental impacts, an analysis of alternatives, or a robust community engagement process.
Last week, the energy and environment committee sought more context to the use of green hydrogen at the plant, asking Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials about potential alternatives to and the public health risks of using green hydrogen.
The council approved a separate item implementing safeguards for the project, calling for regular reports from LADWP to the council. It also sought to:
— Make sure the project would not result in an increase of pollutant emissions or create public health or safety risks from the production, storage, transportation or use of green hydrogen
— Incorporate hydrogen leak prevention, mitigation and monitoring
— Use only hydrogen produced from renewable energy resources
Other instructions included seeking…
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