Diablo Canyon Power Plant—the only nuclear power plant left in California—will be shut down by 2025, according to the plant’s operator, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), which made the announcement on its website on June 21.
The Sun reached out via telephone to media representatives with PG&E, who didn’t respond before press time.
The company’s announcement cites SB 350, or the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act that was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in October 2015 and sets out to battle climate change by requiring the state to generate half of its electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar by 2030.
The power company also said in the statement that an agreement was reached with groups such as the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245, Coalition of California Utility Employees, Friends of the Earth, and Natural Resources Defense Council saying that the company would increase renewable energy sources by 55 percent by 2031.
“California’s energy landscape is changing dramatically with energy efficiency, renewables, and storage being central to the state’s energy policy,” PG&E CEO and President Tony Earley said in the announcement. “As a result, we will not seek to relicense the facility beyond 2025 pending approval of the joint energy proposal.”
With the joint proposal, PG&E would replace two nuclear reactors with a “cost-effective, greenhouse gas free portfolio.” The company added that it doesn’t believe customer rates will increase, since implementing the proposal would be lower in cost than simply relicensing the plant for another 28 years.
In a statement released shortly after PG&E’s announcement, San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace called Diablo an “aging plant,” and among other concerns, emphasized the possible danger that could occur if an earthquake should happen. The group said it will continue to collect and evaluate data about the risk of an earthquake-caused release and refer any information to its expert geologists.
“Mothers for Peace still maintains that the plant, built on active faults, should not have been licensed originally, and should cease operation based on what we know now,” the group said in the statement.
Constructed in 1968, the plant sits near a fault line that runs along that section of the coast in San Luis Obispo County.
Shortly after the plant was completed in 1973, the Hosgri Fault—which is a part of the San Andreas Fault system—was discovered to be close to the plant.
Then, another fault, named the Shoreline Fault, was discovered 1 mile from the plant.
There was no reference to the fault lines or the possibility of earthquake damage, nor the inference that fault line proximity influenced the decision not to relicense Diablo in the announcement from PG&E.
Back in May, Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel) questioned what the economic impact of closing the plant would be to SLO County.
“The economic welfare of the county is highly dependent on PG&E,” Monning said. “It would be prudent to find out just what the economic impact would be.”
The plant employs roughly 1,483 workers, making it the fourth largest employer in the county, according to data from the SLO County Chamber of Commerce.
To alleviate the impact of closure, the proposal includes a payment of nearly $50 million by PG&E to SLO County.
This article appears in Jun 23-30, 2016.
