Use of Diesel Generators Proposed to Bolster Grid

Gov. Gray Davis’ administration is considering pressing into service thousands of diesel-powered generators, a move that would eke out a little more electricity but pump massive quantities of pollutants into the air.

The proposal, part of an emerging strategy to avert blackouts this summer, is one of several options being advanced by Richard Sklar, whom Gov. Davis appointed last month to bring more electricity online with less red tape.

“If backup generators were to be used, it would only be as a last resort to avoid blackouts,” said Davis spokesman Roger Salazar. “Unfortunately, we are in an emergency situation. Everything is on the table.”

But environmentalists and air quality officials are outraged, calling the plan a recipe for unhealthy air during the smoggiest months in the nation’s most polluted state. The legions of small backup generators typically burn diesel fuel and have no pollution controls.

“They could have a huge negative effect on air quality,” said Ellen Garvey, executive officer for the Bay Area Air Quality Management Agency. “It’s one thing to run these generators during blackouts and emergency conditions, but using them for other purposes could be devastating.”

The plan is one of several options being developed by the governor. One approach would pay operators to run the generators when supplies are stretched to alleviate demand on the state’s power grid.

California has about 17,200 backup generators, most in hospitals, office buildings, sewage treatment plants and university labs, although some are portable rentals.

Each generator spews 500 times more nitrogen dioxide for each megawatt of electricity than a natural-gas fired power plant, according to the state Air Resources Board. The generators also release soot.

Under a worst-case scenario prepared by the California Air Pollution Control Officers Assn., generators could produce nearly 17,000 tons of pollutants if they all ran 40 days during blackouts and Stage 3 emergencies. Half of the pollution would be concentrated in the air quality region that includes Los Angeles, Orange and parts of Riverside and San Bernardino counties. That is the smog equivalent to the nitrogen dioxide all the cars in California produce in 13 days, according to the Air Resources Board. Nitrogen dioxide contributes to ozone and microscopic airborne particles, two abundant air pollutants.

Backup generators are so small that collectively they do not produce much power. Only about 550 megawatts could be generated each day, officials say, in a state that requires nearly 100 times as much to function.

Nevertheless, business groups are lobbying for the change, including the League of Food Processors, the California Manufacturers and Technology Assn. and San Diego Gas & Electric Co.

“These generators could go a long way to taking some demand off the electric grid and putting some supply back into the power system,” said Gino DiCaro, spokesman for the manufacturers association.

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