Presiding Commissioner Opposes Baldwin Hills Plant

The state energy commissioner who presided over public hearings at which hundreds of people angrily opposed a proposed power plant in the Baldwin Hills said Wednesday night he will recommend that his panel reject the project.

The 40-page statement issued by Commissioner Robert Pernell concludes that the power plant could not pass muster with air quality officials.

The Energy Commission is scheduled to make a final decision on the plant in Sacramento on Friday. As the presiding commissioner over the project, Pernell’s recommendation holds considerable weight with his colleagues.

“I am pleasantly surprised,” said Assemblyman Herb Wesson (D-Culver City), one of several local politicians opposing the project. “I think it shows all Californians that the government process works.”

The plant’s opponents, many of whom are African American, argued that six of nine similar plants approved by the commission are in predominantly nonwhite areas. And the proposed 53-megawatt “peaker” facility in the Baldwin Hills would sit on the most urban site proposed under the governor’s emergency orders to relieve the power shortage.

“This is a tremendous victory for the future of a Baldwin Hills Park and all the community and elected officials who stood up to protect this area,” said Esther Feldman, one of the key organizers to conserve the hills.

Officials at Stocker Resources, would-be developer of the plant, could not be reached for comment.