Hey! Look at That!
A
Brief History of the
Morro Bay Power Plant
Postcard of Morro Bay
Plant
Introduction
California's
population increase, both during and after World War II, combined with a
growing economy and changes in technology, necessitated additional
electrical power generation. In the San Joaquin Valley, for example, the
advent of electric water pumps increased by 150% between 1946 and 1954,
compared with a power system growth of 105% during the same time period.
New power plants were needed to meet the demand for agriculture as well
as industry. Morro Bay was chosen as the location for a new power plant,
given its proximity to ocean going fuel oil tankers and an unlimited
source of cooling water for the power plant's turbine generators.
Most of the power generated at the Morro Bay plant was transmitted to
the San Joaquin Valley, while a much smaller amount of power was made
available for local distribution via the San Luis Obispo substation.
Plant
Construction
Excavation for the Morro Bay steam electric plant began
in October 1953 on a 140 acre site that was formerly a U.S. Navy Base during World War II.
Bechtel Corporation of San Francisco was chosen as the design and construction firm for the job, and Dames and Moore were the soil
scientists charged with designing the plant foundations. The plant consisted of the
power building housing two 150,000 KW generators, seawater intake
building, a single 450’ tall stack, fuel tanks, cooling water discharge pipe,
marine fuel line, and 230 KV switchyard. For each of the generating units there
was one boiler furnace 139 feet high, or the equivalent of a 14 story building. There were 43.5 miles of wire and cable in the plant, and 60
miles of tubing in each boiler. The $44.3 million project was completed
in July 1955; other generators and stacks were added later.
How
The Plant Works
The power plant employed the first seawater evaporators used for
industrial production of fresh water in the United States. The plant was
powered by fuel oil, delivered via oil tanker to a 24” fuel oil supply
line that extended 4, 400 feet into the ocean. The fuel oil was stored
in four seven-million gallon tanks, and the plant consumed 500,000
gallons of fuel oil a day.
According to the engineers, “The cycle is simple: fuel to the boiler
where steam is created, steam to the turbine where motion is created,
and motion to the generator where electricity is created.”
Aesthetics
Click on either image for a large view of both.
The
scenic location and design of the new industrial facility was not lost
on the engineers planning and building the plant. An 1956 article
authored by Thon and Coltrin stated, “The location of the plant near
the city of Morro Bay and just off California’s scenic Highway No. 1
prompted an architectural treatment which, while not obscuring the
function of the structure, would be at the same time aesthetically
pleasing. Although the climate is mild and suitable for outdoor
operation, the close proximity of the plant to the ocean combined with a
humid atmosphere dictated the necessity of a totally enclosed plant. A
fluted aluminum siding was chosen for the walls of the power
building.“
At
the power plant dedication on July 8, 1955, one speaker said, “It’s
a great thing for the County to have this giant industrial plant, which
is as modern as tomorrow.”
The
Stacks
One of the most prominent features of the Morro Bay power plant is the
450 foot tall smokestacks. These cylindrical structures are founded on
a
reinforced concrete, octagonal mat 90 feet wide and six to ten feet
thick.
This concrete pad is supported by 289 concrete piles of about 68 feet
in
length, driven into the sand and gravel soils. The inside of the first
tower was lined with acid resistant brick in December 1954. The
outside
diameter of the tower’s base is 42’8” and covers 1452 square
feet. The
tower measures 17’6” at the top. The other two stacks were added
in
subsequent plant expansions.
In a July 7, 1955 issue of the San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune, a
special insert titled “PG & E Morro Bay Steam Plan Section”
included the following:
“’The Rock’ at Morro Bay has competition today from ‘The
Stack,’ a 450-foot structure that stands as a man-made California
landmark atop the Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s steam
plant….The tower is an impressive sight to tourists traveling
Highway 1.”
The
Generator
The turbine generators were made by General Electric
Corporation in New York and shipped to San Luis Obispo, California via
rail. At 156,250 KW they were among the largest machines installed and
in operation in the U.S. in 1954. When they arrived at a special
railroad siding at Camp San Luis Obispo in December 1954 they were
loaded onto special tractor trailers for transport to Morro Bay. Highway
1 was closed to traffic, and the concrete roadway covered in wooden
planks for the entire nine mile distance, in order to prevent road
damage from the tremendous weight of the generators and the trucks. A
crew of 59 men working with crane trucks and a lumber carrier picked up
and laid down the large wooden planks (measuring 20 feet long by 12”
wide and 3” thick), laying them edge to edge. Each plank was moved 86
times in traversing the nine mile stretch. The move required eight days,
working around the clock. By the end of the move the planks were reduced
to kindling.
Sources
J. George Thon, M. ASCE was the Bechtel Corporation Project Manager and
Gordon L. Coltrin, A.M. ASCE was Senior Civil Engineer for PG & E.
The first plant manager was B.H. Mudgett.
San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune, July 7, 1955, “PG & E Morro Bay Steam
Plant Section”
Thon, J. George and Gordon L. Coltrin, “Morro Bay Steam Electric
Plant,” American Society of Civil Engineers Transactions Paper no. 2919
(June 1956), 207-238.
James C. Williams, Energy and the Making of Modern
California (Akron, Ohio: University of Akron, 1997)
Historical photographs courtesy Duke Energy, Morro Bay.
