Power Plants and Airports
Don’t Mix
Carol Ford
CALPILOTS
calpilots.org
2010 ACA Conference
South Lake Tahoe
What’s the Problem?
 Power Companies are targeting open land
within 3 miles of a runway to construct
power plants which have plumes~ a hazard
to aviation safety.
 Power plants are only recently being
constructed near airports
 Traditionally plants located further from
airports (stacks exceeded 200 ft) with visible
plumes
2010 ACA Conference
Airport Power Plant Summary
 Blythe I
Operational
 Blythe II
CEC Approved but FAA rejects
mitigation
 Delano
Operational
 Russell City
Before BAAQMD, CPUC and CEC
 Eastshore
Denied (CEC first in 20 years)
 French Valley Riverside~ Power Co withdraws!!
 Byron/Mariposa CEC
 Palomar
CEC
 Tracy
Operational
2010 ACA Conference
Blythe (BLH) Aeronautical Chart
2010 ACA Conference
Invisible Thermal
Plume
One Mile Final
Runway 26
Cooling Tower
Vapor Plume
Blythe I Power Plant, Blythe Airport (BLH)
2010 ACA Conference
Blythe I Power Plant, Blythe Airport (BLH)
2010 ACA Conference
Potential Hazards
for Pilots – Aircraft - Parachutists
 Invisible High velocity buoyant thermal
plumes 850 + degrees
 Opaque Water vapor plumes from exhaust
stacks and cooling water towers
 Toxic Exhaust plume emissions with little or
no Oxygen content
 Accidental Hazardous gas and liquids
releases to atmosphere
2010 ACA Conference
Results In
 Pilot Thermal Plume incident reports and /
or Accidents
 Pilot diversion and distraction from cockpit
 Helicopter accident - engine oxygen
starvation (NTSB)
 FAA Safety Plume Study Jan 2006
 CEC Denial of Eastshore Power Plant 1 mile
from Hayward Executive Airport
2010 ACA Conference
Why Target Airports?
 Now Power Plants have smaller
physical design and footprint
 Airport’s proximity to:
 Main Gas pipeline for Gas Turbine fuel supply
 Electrical Substations to connect to Grid
 Water / wastewater resources
 Land use near airports often zoned light
/heavy industrial
2010 ACA Conference
So Why Target Airports?
 Perceived attractive monetary incentives
offered by power companies e.g. $20,000,000
to The City of Hayward & Agencies
 Perceived tax revenues for City/County
without consideration of adverse impacts
 Sponsors of airports often misunderstand
impact of loss of useable airspace
 Weak/out of date Airport Land Use Plans/
addressing potential hazards
Byron Airport Ongoing
 Status
– John Pfeifer~ AOPA, Andy Wilson and Carol
Ford tour site with power plant applicant and
FAA and STAFF at Byron Airport
– CalPilots~ Wilson/Ford appear before Contra
Costa ALUC 5x so far.
– Finding of Incompatibility~ Power Plant People
upset! Sept 22, 2010 Next Meeting.
2010 ACA Conference
Hayward Executive Airport
(RCEC) Ongoing
 Congressman Pete Stark Wrote letter to
FAA Administrator 9-22-09
 Has the FAA
– studied the potential safety risks of RCEC?
– analyzed whether avoid plumes NOTAM is
sufficient to avoid dangers at airports?
 Pending Federal PSD Application
2010 ACA Conference
Future Ongoing
 CALPILOTS continues to oppose power
plants within 5-10 miles of airports at both
local and state (CEC) level.
 FAA studying of effects of thermal plumes,
due by end 2010
 New AIM page~(213-4)
http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications
 CalTrans Aeronautics updating Airport Land
Use Handbook
2010 ACA Conference
Thank You
Contact
Carol Ford
Ford Aviation Consultants
650-591-8308
650-400-9408 cell
[email protected]
www.airportgrants.com
www. calpilots.org