Hunters Point Power Plant facts for kids
Quick facts for kids 
Hunters Point Power Plant (final configuration, after 1958 addition of Unit 4), viewed southwest from dike. R-L: Unit 1 (lowest building with arched windows), Units 2/3 (open building with peaked roof), Unit 4 (open building with flat square roof)
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| Country | United States |
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| Location | 1000 Evans Ave San Francisco, California |
| Coordinates | 37°44′15″N 122°22′35″W / 37.7374°N 122.3763°W |
| Status | Decommissioned |
| Construction began | September 1928 |
| Commission date | December 3, 1929 |
| Decommission date | May 15, 2006 |
| Owner(s) | Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) |
| Operator(s) | PG&E |
The Hunters Point Power Plant (HPPP) was a large power station in San Francisco, California. It was located in the India Basin part of the Bayview-Hunters Point area. This plant burned fossil fuels, like oil and natural gas, to create electricity.
The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) operated HPPP for many years. It ran from 1929 until 2006. After HPPP closed, the Potrero Generating Station was the last power plant in San Francisco. It also shut down a few years later in 2011.
Contents
History of the Power Plant
The land where the Hunters Point Power Plant was built had a history of industrial use. In the early 1900s, this site was used to build ships and barges. The power plant itself was located near the San Francisco Bay.
Building and Growing the Plant
The first part of the plant was built between 1928 and 1929. It used a steam turbine powered by burning fuel oil. This first unit could produce 35 megawatts (MW) of electricity. It was originally called the San Francisco Bay Steam Plant.
PG&E bought the plant in June 1929. Over the years, the plant grew bigger. More power-generating units were added. Units 2 and 3 were built in 1948 and 1949. Unit 4 was added in 1958. To make space, some land was even reclaimed from the San Francisco Bay.
The plant also needed large tanks to store its fuel. These tanks were added over time as the plant expanded. In 1976, a new Unit 1 was added. This new unit used two diesel-fired gas turbines. These were used for "peaking operations," meaning they could quickly generate power when a lot of electricity was needed. This new Unit 1 replaced the very first unit from 1929.
Community Concerns and Closing the Plant
The Hunters Point Power Plant was one of the oldest power plants in California. It burned a lot of fuel, which created pollution. This pollution affected the air quality in the nearby neighborhoods. Studies showed that people living close to the plant faced more health problems.
In the 1990s, people in the community and activists started pushing for the plant to close. They felt their neighborhood had suffered enough from the pollution. In 1996, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted against building a new power plant in the area. Mayor Willie Brown supported this, saying the community had "been dumped on enough."
PG&E, the plant's owner, considered selling HPPP. However, San Francisco's power grid was somewhat isolated. This meant the city needed local power generation to keep the lights on reliably. PG&E argued that closing the plant too soon could cause power outages.
The City of San Francisco then started talking with PG&E about buying the plant. The city wanted to shut it down. After many discussions and agreements, PG&E finally shut down the Hunters Point Power Plant on May 15, 2006. This was possible because new power lines were built to bring electricity into San Francisco from other places.
After its closure, the plant was taken down in 2008. The site was cleaned up over several years. Today, parts of the former power plant site are used as a community space. It also connects to the San Francisco Bay Trail, a path along the bay.
How the Plant Worked
The Hunters Point Power Plant used different types of machines to make electricity. In 1996, it had two diesel-fired gas turbines. These were known as Unit 1. It also had three steam turbine-generators (Units 2, 3, and 4). These steam turbines got their power from large boilers. The boilers burned natural gas, but they could also burn fuel oil.
The steam turbines used a lot of water for cooling. About 400 million gallons of water per day were taken from the nearby lagoon. This water flowed through the plant to cool the machinery. Then, it was treated to remove chemicals and returned to the India Basin. A special wall, called a breakwater, was built to keep the warm discharge water separate from the cooler intake water.
The plant's site grew over time by filling in parts of the Bay. This added about 80 to 100 acres of land. This expansion allowed for more power units and fuel storage.
Fuel Storage
The plant stored fuel oil in large tanks on its property. These tanks were located in different areas near the plant. Some tanks were built as early as the 1930s, and more were added as the plant expanded in the 1940s and 1950s.
Over time, the plant changed how it used its fuel. By 1996, most of the large fuel oil tanks were empty. Only one tank was still used to store diesel fuel for the newer diesel turbines. Before 1986, fuel was brought to the plant by large oil tankers through an underground pipeline.
Power Units Details
The original Unit 1, called "Station P," started operating in 1929. It could generate about 62,000 horsepower of electricity. Its original boilers were taken out of service in 1972.
Units 2 and 3 were very powerful. They were the largest power plant owned by PG&E when they were finished in 1949. These units were permanently shut down in 2001.
Unit 4 started working in 1958. It was a very large unit that could generate 170 MW of electricity. It was designed to burn natural gas or fuel oil. However, the plant stopped using oil for this unit later on to meet cleaner air rules.
The new Unit 1, which started in 1976, had two diesel-fired turbines. Each of these could generate 26 MW of electricity. These units were important for providing quick power when demand was high.
