Hunters Point Power Plant

Hunters Point Power Plant
Company type	Power generation facility
Industry	Energy
Founded	1929
Defunct	2006
Fate	Closed and dismantled
Headquarters	San Francisco, California, United States
Owner	Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)

The Hunters Point Power Plant (HPPP) was a fossil fuel-based electricity generation facility situated in the India Basin district within the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood of southeastern San Francisco, California. Operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), it functioned from 1929 until its closure in 2006. After HPPP ceased operations, the Potrero Generating Station remained San Francisco's sole power plant until it shut down in 2011.

History

Initially, the Hunters Point location was utilized for shipbuilding and barge assembly during the early twentieth century. The site is approximately enclosed by Jennings Street to the northwest, Pier 96 to the northeast, Evans Avenue to the southwest, and the San Francisco Bay/India Basin shoreline to the southeast. Multiple fuel storage tanks were positioned near Jennings and Evans streets just outside these boundaries.

Construction and expansion

The original facility consisted of a steam turbine unit powered by a fuel oil-fired boiler, constructed between 1928 and 1929 by the Great Western Power Company. In September 1928, Great Western Power announced a contract for laying foundations for an electric generating station near Evans, Jennings, and Burke avenues. By December of that year, construction of a new building close to Hunter's Point was underway, followed by another contract announcement in March 1929. The San Francisco Bay Steam Plant was finalized in mid-1929 at a total expenditure of , initially producing 35 MW of electrical output with expansion plans targeting 170 MW. On June 1, 1929, PG&E purchased the plant from Great Western Power.

Subsequent additions included Units 2 and 3 during 1948–49 alongside three aboveground fuel storage tanks, facilitated by land reclamation from San Francisco Bay on the southeast portion of the property. Unit 4 was introduced in 1958 with three further fuel tanks. Infrastructure enhancements featured a breakwater constructed in 1968 to segregate cooling water intake and discharge areas, followed by a dike completed in 1975 that created an enclosed cooling lagoon. Tanks numbered 8 and 9 were built in 1975 and 1977 respectively. Between these developments, a replacement Unit 1 equipped with two diesel-fueled gas turbines designed for peak load operation was installed in 1976, substituting the original Unit 1 from 1929 which had been retired in the early 1970s.

Opposition and decommissioning

As one of California's oldest and most environmentally detrimental oil-fired power plants, Hunters Point was associated with increased incidences of asthma, heart disease, and certain cancers among local residents. During the 1990s, proposals to construct a new facility at this location were blocked by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, supported by Mayor Willie Brown who sided with community members concerned about disproportionate environmental burdens on Bayview–Hunters Point.

Local advocacy groups campaigned for HPPP’s closure. Amid California’s electricity market deregulation in 1996, PG&E intended to divest at least half of its fossil fuel assets, initially including HPPP along with facilities at Morro Bay, Moss Landing, and Oakland. However, due to San Francisco’s isolated electrical grid requiring local generation for stability, HPPP was excluded from the sale list in 1997.

In June of that year, PG&E declared plans to auction both Hunters Point and Potrero plants starting in 1998. The City of San Francisco sought to acquire these properties with private collaborators but encountered PG&E’s intention to sell to the highest bidder. The city threatened eminent domain proceedings on Hunters Point, prompting regulatory authorities to pause bidding pending completion of an environmental impact assessment. By July 1998, an agreement was reached whereby PG&E would close HPPP once it was no longer essential for grid reliability and after obtaining Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval; in return, the city consented not to obstruct Potrero’s sale.

Activist demonstrations persisted until PG&E permanently ceased operations at HPPP on May 15, 2006. This closure followed enhancements to transmission infrastructure—including the Jefferson-Martin Transmission Project—and installation of the Trans Bay Cable to maintain dependable power delivery. The plant was dismantled in 2008, with remediation efforts nearing completion by 2014.

PG&E retained ownership of the former switchyard (now functioning as a substation) along with Area I located north of Evans and Jennings avenues. While redevelopment initiatives have progressed slowly, by 2017 the shoreline trail encircling the former plant had been incorporated into the San Francisco Bay Trail network. Presently, this site operates as a temporary community venue hosting neighborhood gatherings.

Design

Power generation units at HPPP (1996)
Unit		Capacity (MWe)	Commissioned	Fuel type
1		52	1976	diesel (2× aeroderivative combustion turbines)
2	(Main)	110	1948/49	natural gas or fuel oil (steam turbine)
2	(House)	7.5
3	(Main)	110
3	(House)	7.5
4		170	1958

As of 1996, the facility operated two diesel-powered aeroderivative combustion turbines (Unit 1) alongside three steam turbine-generators (Units 2, 3, and 4). The steam turbines were driven by steam produced from five boilers fueled primarily by natural gas, with historical usage of no. 6 fuel oil.

The steam turbine system utilized lagoon water in a once-through cooling process; this water was chlorinated before passing through condensers and subsequently de-chlorinated prior to discharge into India Basin. To control thermal discharge, a breakwater was erected in 1969 and a dike completed by 1975 enclosed the lagoon.

Between 1947 and 1958, the site expanded significantly through land reclamation north of Evans and east of Jennings, increasing the area by approximately .

Fuel storage tanks

Fuel storage tanks at HPPP (1996)
Tank No.	Capacity	Secondary containment volume
1	1.7×10^⁶ US gal 6.4 Ml	2.3×10^⁶ US gal 8.7 Ml
2	1.7×10^⁶ US gal 6.4 Ml	2.3×10^⁶ US gal 8.7 Ml
3	1.5×10^⁶ US gal 5.7 Ml	2.2×10^⁶ US gal 8.3 Ml
4	1.7×10^⁶ US gal 6.4 Ml	2.3×10^⁶ US gal 8.7 Ml
5	1.9×10^⁶ US gal 7.2 Ml	2.3×10^⁶ US gal 8.7 Ml
6	1.8×10^⁶ US gal 6.8 Ml	2.1×10^⁶ US gal 7.9 Ml
7	1.8×10^⁶ US gal 6.8 Ml	2.2×10^⁶ US gal 8.3 Ml
8	10.7×10^⁶ US gal 41 Ml	12^{[convert: needs unit name]}

Fuel oil was contained within nine aboveground tanks situated near the intersections of Evans and Jennings across three separate locations: Tanks 1 and 2 positioned north of the intersection; Tanks 3, 4, and 8 to the east; and Tanks 5, 6, 7, and 9 located south of Evans.

Tank number 3 has been present since at least 1935 and may represent one of the original storage units on site. Tanks 1, 2, and 4 were installed during the late 1940s in conjunction with Units 2 and 3; Tanks numbered from 5 to 7 were commissioned in 1958 alongside Unit 4; Tanks 8 and 9 are visible in aerial imagery dating to the mid-1970s.

During the 1970s, Tank 3 also held dielectric oil waste that potentially contained PCBs; any overflow from this tank was directed to Tank 8 and may have been subject to incineration during operational activities.

Prior to 1986, fuel deliveries arrived via oil tankers docking at Pier 90, then transported underground along Cargo Way through pipelines. By the year 1996, only Tank number 9 remained active for diesel storage purposes; Tanks numbered from one to eight had been emptied since approximately 1994.

Unit specifications

The initial Unit 1, known as Station P when it began operation on December 3, 1929, had a generation capacity of ; its pair of boilers were decommissioned in 1972.

Units 2 and 3 featured four boilers (S3–S6) providing thermal power and a total electrical output of , which included smaller turbines dedicated to "house" power requirements. Expansion plans announced by PG&E in 1946 had been postponed since 1941 due to material shortages during the war. Constructed between 1948 and 1949, Units 2 and 3 were officially dedicated in February 1949, establishing the facility as PG&E's largest power generation site at that time. These units were retired permanently in 2001.

In 1955, PG&E sought authorization to develop Unit 4, outfitted with a single boiler (S7) delivering thermal power and producing an electric output of 170 MW. Originally designed to operate on either natural gas or fuel oil, the unit later ceased oil combustion because of tightened NOx emission standards that would have required expensive modifications. Unit 4 commenced service in 1958.

Permits granted in 1975 allowed PG&E to install four peaking power units within San Francisco; one was located at Hunters Point Power Plant (HPPP) and three at Potrero. The Unit 1 designation at HPPP was reassigned to two diesel-powered peaking turbines (S1 and S2), each rated for thermal power and generating 26 MW electrically. This updated Unit 1 configuration became operational in 1976.

External links