CARLSBAD — City Council was given an update Aug. 12 on plans for a proposed power plant to be built by NRG West on the property of the current power plant along Carlsbad Boulevard, and members once again voiced their opposition to the plans.

Although Carlsbad has a history of supporting regional infrastructure, Joe Garuba, municipal projects manager for the city, said the proposed location for the new power plant would significantly change the feel of the city and impact the quality of life of its residents.

The city has proposed a number of alternative sites.

“However, we’re not in control of the project” Garuba said. “But, we do have an opportunity to submit our thoughts.”

The California Energy Commission has exclusive jurisdiction, he said, to approve and license the project, which is currently being considered.

Garuba updated the council at the meeting on the series of changes NRG West submitted to the California Energy Commission on July 25.

Among the changes are the height of the smoke stacks, now proposed to be 139 feet high; the relocation of the switchyard; and the certification from the state and the County Department of Environmental Health for the demolition of the fuel tanks.

However, one of the most significant changes to the plans calls for a new desalination plant to be built to supply water to the proposed plant. The new desalination plant would need to take in 4 million gallons of saltwater a day to produce enough water to run the new air-cooled plant.

“We would have a big problem with another desal plant on the same property,” Marco Gonzalez, an attorney representing the Surfrider Foundation, said. The Surfrider Foundation filed a lawsuit earlier this year against Poseidon Resources over its plans for a desalination plant proposed to be built on the same property.

The lawsuit contends there will be significant negative impacts on the lagoon and marine life, without adequate mitigation.

A second desalination plant would obviously create even more impact, Gonzalez said, adding that the city should provide water for the new power plant from its current reclamation plant.

According to Tim Hemig of NRG West, the new plant will be air-cooled, but will use some water. However, unlike the existing plant, the plant will not use saltwater, but it will need some “fresh” water.

Plans originally called for the water to come from the city of Carlsbad’s reclaimed water facility, however, the facility currently only produces about 1.84 million gallons a day and the power plant will need about the same amount, officials said.

Peter MacLaggan, vice president of Poseidon Resources, the recently approved desalination plant proposed to be built on the same property, has said that they would be open to being “good neighbors,” and to the possibility of working to supply that need in the future.

The recently approved desal plant, to be built on the same property, hopes to be up and running around the same time as the newly proposed power generating facility.