Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Key Negotiator In Proposal To Shut Down Diablo Nuclear Power Plant Talks About Plan

New plan calls for PG & E to drop license renewal efforts for the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, and to close it by 2025. It would replace the energy generated by the plant with renewable sources

It’s news that’s left some cheering, and others stunned.

PG & E’s announcement that it won’t seek re-licensing of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, and will replace it with renewable energy projects came as a surprise to some, while others think it’s just good business.

The proposal has left some longtime critics pleased.

Ralph Cavanagh is with the Natural Resources Defense Council. He was one of the chief negotiators in what’s being called a historic proposal. Those involved with the deal include PG and E, the NRDC, Friends of The Earth, Environment California, The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245, the Coalition of California Utility Employees, and the Alliance for Nuclear responsibility.

The plan calls for PG &E to drop its request for a 20 year extension of its Nuclear Regulatory Commissions for Diablo Canyon’s two reactors, which are set to expire in 2024 and 2025. So, the plan would end efforts to extend the plant’s life, but it would still operate for the next nine years.

The plant, near Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, is the last operational nuclear power plant in California. It provides more than 2100 megawatts of power, which is enough to serve about 1.7 million homes.

The plant has been controversial even before it first went online more than three decades ago, with big concerns about its safety. A number of groups have opposed its relicensing because of seismic safety concerns. PG & E contends the facility is safe, but opponents say its proximity to earthquake faults poses a huge risk.

The NRDC’s Cavanagh says the shutdown process is a lengthy one, which will take years, and lots of review to look at issues like how you deal with spent fuel rods. It also gives the community time to prepare, because the plant is San Luis Obispo County’s largest employer, with more than 1500 workers. Cavenagh says most of those jobs will be secure for years, and perhaps some will shift to the renewable energy projects P-G and E has pledged to pursue.

The NRDC negotiator says this agreement puts his environmental groups, and others in an interesting position. Next week, the State Lands Commission is set to look at renewing leases critical to keeping the plant open. He says they will be there in support of PG & E, because abruptly trying to close the plant would be a disaster.

The plant was also facing the possibility of having to spend billions of dollars to rebuild its ocean water cooling system, something the company had told stockholders could be a make or break situation for the facility’s long term future.

Cavanagh says with the way our power grid works evolving, he sees this plan as one potentially other utilities may follow to close nuclear power plants. PG & E declined multiple requests from KCLU News for an interview, but in a written statement calls this plan a reflection on California’s changing energy landscape.

Related Stories