Morro Rock, clouds, and PG&E
Morro Rock is a 581-foot volcanic plug located just off-shore of Morro Bay, California at the entrance to the Morro Bay Harbor and a causeway connects it with the shore, effectively making it a tied island.
Morro Rock was first charted in 1542 by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who called it El Morro, which translates from Spanish to "the pebble". Since then, it has become an important landmark to sailors and travelers.
Morro Rock is considered a sacred site by the Chumash Indian tribe, who had an important nearby prehistoric settlement at least as early as the Millingstone Horizon, which village was near the mouth of Morro Creek. The Chumash have the rare exemption to legally climb Morro Rock for their annual Solstice ceremony.
Morro Rock is the best known of the Nine Sisters of San Luis Obispo County, a series of ancient volcanic plugs which line the Los Osos Valley between the cities of Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo.
The Dynegy power plant, previously owned by Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Duke Energy, and LSPower (PG&E), plays a large role in Morro Bay, and in providing reliable electricity to the Central Coast and the Central Valley of California (primarily Fresno and Bakersfield). Its future is currently, as of 2007, uncertain. The current plant was built in the 1950s, and Dynegy wishes to modernize it with a new combined cycle plant. Due primarily to economics, the plant is currently operating at relatively low capacity factors (approximately 5%) under contract with PG&E. The plant is currently staffed with 44 employees. A portion of the city's budget comes from tax on the natural gas the plant burns. The outfall lease with the city was recently approved by the majority of the city council. Activists are opposed to the new plant. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the courts are currently wrestling with how to interpret the Clean Water Act (CWA) and its applicability to power plants. The EPA has ruled that the local Regional Water Quality Control Boards are responsible for ensuring that the current and the future plant are permitted and regulated. If the proposed plant is eventually built, the old power plant and its 450 ft. tall stacks will be removed. The modernized plant would be located slightly northwest of the existing plant, and its stacks would be much shorter (145 ft).
Morro Rock, clouds, and PG&E
Morro Rock is a 581-foot volcanic plug located just off-shore of Morro Bay, California at the entrance to the Morro Bay Harbor and a causeway connects it with the shore, effectively making it a tied island.
Morro Rock was first charted in 1542 by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who called it El Morro, which translates from Spanish to "the pebble". Since then, it has become an important landmark to sailors and travelers.
Morro Rock is considered a sacred site by the Chumash Indian tribe, who had an important nearby prehistoric settlement at least as early as the Millingstone Horizon, which village was near the mouth of Morro Creek. The Chumash have the rare exemption to legally climb Morro Rock for their annual Solstice ceremony.
Morro Rock is the best known of the Nine Sisters of San Luis Obispo County, a series of ancient volcanic plugs which line the Los Osos Valley between the cities of Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo.
The Dynegy power plant, previously owned by Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Duke Energy, and LSPower (PG&E), plays a large role in Morro Bay, and in providing reliable electricity to the Central Coast and the Central Valley of California (primarily Fresno and Bakersfield). Its future is currently, as of 2007, uncertain. The current plant was built in the 1950s, and Dynegy wishes to modernize it with a new combined cycle plant. Due primarily to economics, the plant is currently operating at relatively low capacity factors (approximately 5%) under contract with PG&E. The plant is currently staffed with 44 employees. A portion of the city's budget comes from tax on the natural gas the plant burns. The outfall lease with the city was recently approved by the majority of the city council. Activists are opposed to the new plant. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the courts are currently wrestling with how to interpret the Clean Water Act (CWA) and its applicability to power plants. The EPA has ruled that the local Regional Water Quality Control Boards are responsible for ensuring that the current and the future plant are permitted and regulated. If the proposed plant is eventually built, the old power plant and its 450 ft. tall stacks will be removed. The modernized plant would be located slightly northwest of the existing plant, and its stacks would be much shorter (145 ft).