The California Public Utilities Commission will consider the construction of a $2.6-billion power plant on the beach in Carlsbad. NRG Energy is the developer, and commission officials say the Carlsbad Energy Center is needed in order to replace the Encina Power Station, which is scheduled to shut down in 2018.

However, the Imperial Irrigation District board is pushing for a geothermal plant in the Salton Sea, as opposed to the gas-burning one in Carlsbad. They say it would generate 1,400 megawatts, more than double the Carlsbad Energy Center.

There is an argument that a plant in the Salton Sea would be too far away from a majority of businesses and residents to adequately serve them.