A long anticipated $350 million energy power plant being promoted by Newport Beach entrepreneur Buck Johns looks like it’s about to get off the ground.
A subcommittee of the California Energy Commission gave its approval on March 31 to the High Desert Power Project, to be built at a former Air Force base in Victorville. The full commission is expected to give final approval at its May 3 meeting.
“After six years and $10 million, we’re going to get a permit to build a power project,” Johns said. “We expect to begin building 90 days after that meeting.”
The High Desert Power Project is being planned on 30 acres of industrial property that is part of the Southern California International Airport, formerly George Air Force Base, about 80 miles north of the John Wayne Airport.
Constellation Power Inc., a subsidiary of Constellation Energy Group (formerly Baltimore Gas & Electric), is financing the project. It is expected to generate 700 megawatts, enough energy for 300,000 homes.
The idea of the project is to take advantage of California’s deregulated energy market by making the plant 30% more efficient than existing facilities and thus able to underbid the competition. The plant will produce electricity by burning natural gas, which is plentiful in California.
