In the latest edition of San Diego Explained, a weekly segment we do with NBC San Diego, we take a look at the eyesore that is the South Bay Power Plant on Chula Vista’s bay front.
View more videos at: http://www.nbcsandiego.com.
I spent a few weeks reporting on Chula Vista earlier this year and I wrote a number of stories about the power plant, which I soon came to view as a fascinating, controversial and complex subject.
The NBC explainer is an attempt to condense a lot of work and research into the massive power plant and its effect on the surrounding area, into a few minutes of easily digestible and concise reporting. Please watch the report and, if your interest is piqued, check out these stories:
This story took a look at the city of Chula Vista’s one-time plan to possibly take over the job of demolishing and cleaning up after the power plant. That plan’s now dead.
Next, I wrote this blog post after I found out that the energy company responsible for paying for much of the demolition and cleanup was facing serious financial difficulties.
I also wrote this in-depth piece about the physical, financial and political challenges involved in taking down the power plant.
Researching the demolition story helped me realize the significance of the San Diego Bay in the power plant equation, so I wrote this story examining the unanswered question of what contamination the plant may have caused to the bay and the implications of any contamination for the cleanup process and the cost of the project.
Please contact Will Carless directly at will.carless@voiceofsandiego.org or at 619.550.5670 and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/willcarless.