22 February 2022
The San Luis Obispo County legislature has expressed its support for keeping the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant open. It voted to ask California Governor Gavin Newsom if Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), has the required permits to keep the state’s only remaining nuclear plant in operation.
Diablo Canyon supporters rally to clean energy in December 2021 (Image courtesy of @savecleanenergy
On February 15, five members of San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted for a motion that Newsom should write. They asked Newsom to “work with PG&E” to get all permits needed to keep Diablo Canyon’s nuclear power plant operating.
The vote came after Jacopo Puongiorno, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology nuclear engineer, testified. He was co-author of a November study that reassessed Diablo Canyon’s value for helping California face the climate change challenges. The study was published in November. An Assessment of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant to Produce Zero-Carbon Electricity, Hydrogen Production, and Desalination– determined that Diablo Canyon would be economically, environmentally and attractive. This would reduce carbon emissions from the electricity industry while saving ratepayers billions. It also alleviated the need to develop large areas for renewable energy production to replace the facility’s capacity.
PG&E Director Tom Jones, Director of Government Relations at PG&E, stated that the market and regulatory problems that led to PG&E’s announcement in August 2016 of its plans to retire Diablo Canyon’s two pressurised water generators at the expiration of their current 40 year operating licences (November 2024 and August 2025 respectively) remain. “So with this, the state policies haven’t been changed that would allow for any further operation of Diablo Canyon. He said that the state plans to decommission the Canyon in 2025 is still on track.
Three of the Board of Governors voted for the motion with one voting against. Dawn Ortiz Legg (ex-PG&E employee) expressed support but resigned from her vote.
Buongiorno is among over 70 scientists and entrepreneurs who wrote earlier this month to Newsom requesting that California reverse the decision to shut down Diablo Canyon prematurely. SignatoriesLet me know The disciplines include climate science, marine biology and air pollution research, energy and planetary science, as well as Richard Rhoades, a former US Energy Secretary, and Richard Rhoades, a science historian.
Written by World Nuclear News.
