Lompoc hears NCPA update as council approves Phase 2 work to replace aging CT2 unit

Lompoc City Council on March 4 received an update from Randy Howard, general manager of the Northern California Power Agency (NCPA), about joint power projects that supply the city and voted, as part of the consent calendar, to move forward with Phase 2 engineering and permitting to replace the aging combustion turbine CT2.

The presentation outlined NCPA-owned resources that supply Lompoc — combustion turbines, geothermal, hydroelectric and the Lodi Energy Center — and described a proposed CT2 replacement called Project Phoenix that NCPA expects to be faster-starting, more efficient and hydrogen-capable in the future.

Howard told the council NCPA provided about 52,000 megawatt-hours of energy to Lompoc in 2024 and met roughly 90% of the city’s resource adequacy requirements through joint-owned projects. He said Project Phoenix would install a new approximately 49.9-megawatt turbine at the CT2 site, with faster start capability and the potential to be modified in future to burn up to 100% hydrogen, though NCPA is not proposing hydrogen…