More nuclear reactors may be built in CA, reversing thinking of just two years ago
PG&E and Southern California Edison rethink decision of two years ago that showed little interest in new nuclear power stations
By David Sneed
dsneed@thetribunenews.com
PG&E is studying the feasibility of renewing the license of Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant for 20 more years of operation.
PG&E is studying the feasibility of renewing the license of Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant for 20 more years of operation.Executives with California’s two nuclear power utilities told the state Energy Commission on Thursday that they are considering the possibility of building new nuclear plants as a means of meeting the state’s future energy needs.
Jack Keenan with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and Gary Schooyan of Southern California Edison said new nuclear power generation is part of the mix of energy sources they are considering using as they do long-range planning.
“We need to keep that option open to us,†Keenan said. “We are studying it very hard.â€
PG&E operates San Luis Obispo County’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, and Southern California Edison operates the San Onofre nuclear generating station near Carlsbad.
The statements Thursday mark a shift since 2005, when the Energy Commission last held hearings on the future of nuclear power in the state. At that time, PG&E and Edison officials expressed little interest in new nuclear power stations.
Neither utility has spent any company or ratepayer money
on developing plans for new nuclear generation nor did they give any details about when or where new reactors might be built.
PG&E spokesman Pete Resler could not be reached Thursday evening to address whether San Luis Obispo County might be considered as the site of additional nuclear power reactors.
PG&E is also looking at the possibility of new reactors out of the state that could serve California customers, similar to the way Palo Verde nuclear power plant in Arizona provides power for Southern California.
Both utilities are also studying the feasibility of renewing the licenses of Diablo Canyon and San Onofre for an additional 20 years of operation. Both plants’ original 40-year licenses will expire in 2020.
Schooyan suggested that the Energy Commission should also consider working with utilities to get an early site permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to hasten the regulatory approval process.
Keenan estimated that it would take nine to 11 years to build a new plant.
This renewed interest in nuclear power by California utilities follows a national trend. Federal nuclear regulators expect utilities will request permission to build more than 30 nuclear plants countrywide in coming years.
Nuclear power is considered a highly reliable electricity source that produces much fewer global warming-inducing greenhouse gas emissions than many other power sources.
Rochelle Becker, an activist with the San Luis Obispo-based Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility, told the commission that nuclear power is a bad choice because it causes large stockpiles of highly radioactive used fuel to accumulate along the state’s earth-quake- prone coastal areas.
Becker urged state regulators to shift to renewable energy sources.
She said she is skeptical that new nuclear plants would ever be built in California, because they are expensive to build and subject to cost overruns. California regulators should wait and see what happens in other states where new nuclear plants are proposed before thinking about new plants in California, she said.
“I don’t think it’s going to happen,†she said. “They don’t pencil out.â€
New nuclear power plants in the state must overcome several substantial obstacles. The main one is a state law that bans new plants until the federal government opens a centralized underground nuclear waste storage repository.
Another obstacle would be resistance from Californians and their lawmakers, who tend to be unfriendly toward nuclear power.
Reach David Sneed at 781-7930.
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