The Huntington Beach City Council signed off on AES' plans to give its power plant at Pacific Coast Highway and Newland Street a beach motif and replace two tall steam stacks with shorter ones, but the energy provider must still receive a permit to begin construction.
Council members unanimously voted to approve the redesign of the natural gas-powered electricity-generating facility and allow the company to construct steam stacks that exceed the 50-foot height limit in that area. The six proposed stacks will be 120 feet each.
The two 202-foot steam stacks there currently were approved under an old provision.
The company's intent is to upgrade the facility and have it blend in better with the surrounding beachside neighborhood.
Monday's vote was among the last endorsements AES needed from the city before it submits its plans for final approval to the California Energy Commission, which has jurisdiction over the project.
"We have been at this for almost two years now," said Stephen O'Kane, AES's manager of sustainability and regulatory compliance.