Will Morro Bay Power Plant sell soon?

February 25, 2015

morro bay stacksEnergy firm Dynegy announced Tuesday that it did not succeed in a search for a buyer for the Morro Bay Power Plant, but the company likely faces pressure to eventually unload the closed facility. [Tribune]

A Dynegy spokesman said the Morro Bay Power Plant property had been on the market since late last year. Dynegy was also trying to sell its California energy facilities in Oakland and Moss Landing in Monterey County, but the bids submitted for the three properties came in below expectations.

Dynegy closed the Morro Bay plant in early 2014 after it announced the facility was no longer profitable. To keep the plant running, the company would have needed to invest heavily in making the facility compatible with California environmental regulations.

While Dynegy may not be in a rush to sell the plant, it must unload the property by 2033 or the city of Morro Bay could snatch it at the cost of $1. A clause in the current power plant deed allows the city to do so if the facility goes 20 years without generating electricity, City Manager David Buckingham and City Attorney Joseph Pannone said.

The Morro Bay City Council discussed a potential sale of the property at its meeting Tuesday night. A majority of the council favored reaching out to potential buyers and using its rezoning powers to make the property more desirable

Councilman John Headding said his research indicates that Dynegy does want to get rid of its California properties. They want to sell the facilities due to the state’s strong environmental standards and the lack of profitability at the sites, he said.

Headding suggested that conservation organizations with access to millions of dollars should create a preserve at the power plant location. The preserve could work in conjunction with a development on the property, he said.

Councilman Noah Smukler said the city should contact Washington, D.C. legislators to see what kind of use they suggest for the site. Smukler also said the nonprofit Pacific Wildlife Care Center should be allowed to continue rehabilitating non-marine animals at the location.


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MBPP Boilers are 9 stories of Friable Asbestos X 4 Units.

Subterranean discharge outfall pipes are 1/2 mile out to the rock X 4 . MBPP was built like Fort Knox …All to be removed and disposed of at tax payers expense? Its the California way.

Its not like tearing down an old shed.


In Life ………..Some Opportunities will NEVER come around again. 1999 -2002 Morro Bay City leadership let Greed and Pride chase Duke’s generous deal away (As posted by Gsan)……….. a win win for all. But They Wanted More.

Now the Cities future option is liken to buying someone’s old Time Share. Assuming liability of perhaps 100 Million on property worth 10 M. So who’s going to pay the property taxes? I can just see it now ………….parking Meters on the Embarcadero.


I’ll agree with you on the past councils not helping keep this plant viable and go to bat and fight for its stability,instead they kept trying to bleed the operation, and now this council is trying its best to get something for nothing,I’m starting to believe that there is something else in the back room going on here,if the city ever gets the sewar plant up Hwy 41 they are going to put the city corp yard there also,now thats pretty stupid,so with all that preperty empty all they have to do is run the last rements of the concrete plant out of town and buy the one little piece of dirt from Ogle and presto,possible site for some indians to put a casino up,mind you the city doesn’t get a dime off the casino. So its either the old city site or the PGE site for the indians,the city is up to something.


Cut the stacks off and sell them to 3rd world countries as potential light houses.


Big-assed pocket park.


Lets not start on the “pocket part” fiasco.

So lets take public street parking spots and give it to restaurant seating and call it a pocket part….it’s CRAZY