How close to the #DiabloCanyonNuclearPlant? Hmmmm...

Breaking: #SkyFire reported in #SanLuis Obispo County on Jan. 7

By CA WILDFIRE BOT
Updated January 07, 2025

First discovered: 7:10 a.m. Jan. 7
Initial location: San Luis Obispo County, Calif.

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: Sky

A new wildfire was reported today at 7:10 a.m. in San Luis Obispo County.

Sky Fire has been burning on private land. At this time, there is no data on the containment status of the fire and the cause has yet to be determined.

Source: National Interagency Fire Center

Read more:
https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article298115883.html

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/648uC
#RethinkNotRestart #Wildfires #NuclearPlants #WildfireWx #ClimateChange

Critics say #DiabloCanyon #NuclearPlant produces too much power at too high a price

By Thomas Fudge, December 11, 2024

"#SolarPower has become a plentiful #CleanEnergy source that the state [of #California] may have underestimated when it chose to extend Diablo Canyon.

"Some people who run California’s statewide power grid say nuclear is clean power. It generates no greenhouse emissions. But it does create #NuclearWaste and it has to run 24-7, making it very inflexible.

"'With the lack of flexibility, and the growth of flexible resources that we have coming on to our system, I just don’t know if there’s going to be value in retaining those resources,' said Brian Murray, director of real time operation with the California Independent System Operator (ISO).

"McCann said nuclear power from Diablo Canyon is also getting expensive. PG&E is applying to raise its rates in order to keep the plant open.

"That cost will affect San Diego customers of SDG&E also, and it’s something lawmakers didn’t anticipate when they voted to extend the life of the nuclear plant."

Read more:
https://www.kpbs.org/news/science-technology/2024/12/11/diablo-canyon-nuclear-plant-produces-too-much-power-too-expensive

#NoNukes #DiabloCanyonNuclearPlant #SeismicRisk #CascadianSubduction #RethinkNotRestart #NuclearIsNotCarbonFree

The #DiabloCanyonNuclearPlant: assessing the seismic risks of extended operation

By Edwin Lyman | August 15, 2022

"In 2016, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) announced a historic agreement with labor and environmental groups to shut down the two-unit Diablo Canyon nuclear plant in California by 2025 and replace its roughly 2,200 megawatts of electricity with low- and zero-carbon renewable energy, energy efficiency, and storage. Today, that agreement is in serious jeopardy after an academic study whose authors include staff from MIT’s partly industry-funded Center for Advanced Energy Systems, combined with a sustained and vocal public relations campaign waged by Diablo Canyon supporters (including a Tik-Tok influencer), have succeeded in raising doubts about the viability of the power replacement plan. Growing concerns about climate change-related impacts on the reliability of the electrical grid have also prompted California governor Gavin Newsom to reconsider his position and seek to keep the plant open, at least in the short term. The US Energy Department’s Office of Nuclear Energy is also doing its part to keep Diablo Canyon open by relaxing the original financial qualification criteria and extending the application deadline by more than three months for its recently established Civil Nuclear Credit Program. This will make it possible for PG&E to apply for a first round of federal subsidies aimed at helping utilities keep nuclear power plants open.

"Although there is some basis for the criticism that PG&E and the State of California are not acting quickly enough to ensure that enough carbon-free power will be available to replace all of Diablo Canyon’s output, the California Public Utilities Commission’s historic decision last year to procure 11,500 megawatts of clean energy resources by 2026, along with 4,000 megawatts of new capacity (mostly battery storage) added to the grid in the last year, should help address that concern. A recent analysis by Gridlab and Telos Energy also found that renewable energy could replace Diablo Canyon and supply 85 percent of California’s electricity by 2030, while keeping the power on for its 40 million residents—even under stressful conditions such as low hydropower generation, retirements of fossil fuel-fired plants, and heatwaves similar to what caused rolling power outages in August 2020.

"Nevertheless, the disagreement over the plant’s future has become a proxy for the larger debate over what role nuclear power should play in addressing climate change, given its safety and security risks. If PG&E’s original plan were to succeed, after all, it could undermine the nuclear advocates’ argument that nuclear power is an irreplaceable asset in all circumstances.

"But if Diablo Canyon is to remain open beyond 2025, PG&E will have to address a number of difficult issues. First, the company will have to prepare a new 20-year license renewal application and submit it to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) before the expiration of Unit 1’s operating license in 2024. PG&E will also have to undertake extensive inspections and equipment upgrades that were indefinitely postponed after it made the decision to shut the plant, as discussed in a June 2022 meeting of the Diablo Canyon Independent Safety Committee. And finally, it must take a hard look at the vulnerability of the plant to earthquakes and consider the need to make seismic upgrades to minimize the risk to the public over the period of extended operation.

"Conflicting information on the seismic question has been reported. A spokesperson for the California Public Utility Commission was quoted as saying that if PG&E were to resume the license renewal proceeding for the plant, it would need to make seismic upgrades. However, this statement is not consistent with the NRC’s current position. Following a review conducted in the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima accident in Japan, the agency concluded that no seismic upgrades at Diablo Canyon or any other US nuclear plants were necessary, because the health and safety risks to the public were acceptable. Since the NRC has sole authority over the radiological safety aspects of Diablo Canyon, this means that the plant owner will not have to spend a penny to strengthen its seismic protection, no matter what the state of California wants.

"Arguably, however, the NRC is not doing enough to reduce the risk that a severe earthquake could cause a Fukushima-like core meltdown and radiation release at Diablo Canyon (or, for that matter, other seismically vulnerable nuclear plants in the country). The agency, as part of its drive to transform into a more “risk-informed” regulator, cites the low calculated radiological risk to the public from nuclear plant accidents to justify not taking action to increase safety across a wide range of areas, including seismic protection. But there’s a major problem with this approach: Assessing the seismic risk involves understanding both the uncertainties associated with nuclear accidents and the even larger unknowns encountered in trying to predict earthquake behavior. These uncertainties raise doubts whether the seismic risks can be calculated with sufficient precision to support the NRC’s complacency.

"Although other nuclear plants are also seismically vulnerable, according to current information, the potential peak ground motion that the Diablo Canyon site may experience from an earthquake occurring every 10,000 years on average is far higher than any other US plant. But it is also important to consider this value in relation to the seismic standard that the plant was designed and built to meet and that is used as the basis for inspection and regulatory enforcement. Diablo Canyon’s seismic risk actually may be lower than some other US reactors because, given its location, it was originally designed with additional earthquake resistance. But that doesn’t mean it is safe enough. Serious questions persist about whether Diablo Canyon’s design basis and 'current licensing basis' meet a high enough seismic standard to adequately protect the public.'"

Read more:
https://thebulletin.org/2022/08/the-diablo-canyon-nuclear-plant-assessing-the-seismic-risks-of-extended-operation/

#CascadianSubductionZone #California #RethinkNotRestart #NoNukesForAI #RenewablesNow #NoNukes

#NRC agrees to reevaluate #SeismicRisk at #DiabloCanyonNuclearPlant

Tue, Sep 3, 2024, 4:01PM
Nuclear News

"In response to a petition filed by #environmental groups earlier this year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will reinvestigate earthquake fault lines and the potential for seismic activity and ensuing damage at California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.

“ 'This is a major step forward and a clear acknowledgment that our concerns are valid,' said Diane Curran, legal counsel for Mothers for Peace, about the NRC’s decision. 'It’s rare for the [commission] to review a petition of this nature, highlighting the . . . seriousness of the seismic risks involved.'

"Critics of Diablo Canyon, which is California’s only remaining nuclear plant, say previous environmental reports about the site significantly underestimate the likelihood of a severe earthquake.

"Owner Pacific Gas & Electric has long contested claims of danger due to seismic activity, since Diablo Canyon was built and retrofitted to withstand powerful earthquakes. In March 2023, PG&E received approval from the NRC in the form of a 'timely renewal' exemption to continue operating the Diablo Canyon reactors beyond their retirement dates of 2024 and 2025. Later that year, in December, the California Public Utilities Commission voted to extend the life of the plant an additional five years. A 20-year license renewal application for plant’s two reactors is currently under review with the NRC."

Read more:
https://www.ans.org/news/article-6353/nrc-agrees-to-reevaluate-seismic-risk-at-diablo-canyon/

#NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #RethinkNotRestart #MothersForPeace #CascadianSubductionZone #Earthquakes #PacificGasAndElectric

#DiabloCanyon #NuclearPowerPlant brings #profits for PG&E, deadly risk for residents [and the #environment]

Tina Landis
August 19, 2024

"Despite opposition from residents and #environmental organizations, California legislators passed #SenateBill846 in 2022 to extend the life of the dangerous, aging Diablo Canyon #nuclear facility.

"Located on the Central Coast surrounded by several #fault lines, one has to question why a nuclear facility was placed in an #earthquake zone to begin with, much less allowing it to continue to operate well past its retirement date. The world witnessed what can happen to a coastal nuclear facility in an earthquake zone when the 2011 #Fukushima disaster triggered a meltdown that displaced nearly half a million residents, with vast amounts of #RadioactiveWater still being released into the ocean today.

"As long as Diablo Canyon remains open, Californians live with the constant risk of suffering the same type of disaster.

"From its inception, Diablo Canyon had little public support. Protests occurred regularly during its construction, and thousands were arrested for #CivilDisobedience actions in 1981.

"In the 1970s and 1980s, California’s three largest utilities spent billions of dollars building dangerous and costly nuclear plants like Diablo Canyon, which resulted in skyrocketing rates for customers. Big industry fought back against these increased energy costs, which resulted in deregulation bills consisting of multi-billion dollar #bailouts to the state’s utility companies to cover their costly investments in nuclear.

"Today, the last remaining nuclear plant operating in the state is still draining billions in funds that could be used for safe, #renewable energy development. To keep Diablo Canyon running 5 years past its retirement date is expected to cost $8 billion to $12 billion. A federal aid package of $1.1 billion will contribute to some of those costs – meaning federal #taxpayers’ money – while the remaining billions will be passed on to #California #ratepayers.

"Despite being run by PG&E and only generating power for its territory, customers of #SouthernCaliforniaEdison and #SanDiegoGasAndElectric will help cover the remaining costs of the Diablo extension. Edison bills will increase by around $1.25 a month and SDG&E by 87 cents a month, while PG&E customers are expected to chip in $2.07 a month – and that’s just for the first year. Critics warn that costs are likely to increase in coming years to keep the plant running, and that’s on top of already skyrocketing PG&E rates that have doubled over the last decade. And if PG&E collects more funds than are needed for Diablo’s operations, they get to keep it!

"In 2022, when legislators pushed this through #SB846, the excuse of energy shortages was used due to pandemic-related supply chain issues and massive #wildfires. But today, there is plenty of energy being produced with increased #solar and #battery storage capacity that has kept the lights on even during this summer’s unprecedented heat waves driving up demand. The California Public Utility Commission’s own reporting shows that an additional 18,500 megawatts of new resources were added to the grid between 2020 and 2024, which is enough to power around 14 million homes. Another 11,000 megawatts will be added by 2028.

"Nuclear has the third highest lifecycle emissions of all energy sources after scrubbed #coal fired plants and natural gas – meaning it is far from being zero-emission. It also creates the unresolved issue of the #RadioactiveWaste which remains dangerous for tens of thousands to millions of years.

"Keeping the Diablo facility running will only hold back further development of safe and truly low-carbon, low cost renewable sources like solar and #wind energy.

"So why isn’t Diablo Canyon being decommissioned? The short answer is that #capitalism must ensure continued profits for the #InvestorClass.

"SB 846 authorized Diablo’s extension through 2030, and gave PG&E a $1.4 billion loan for the for-profit utility to facilitate the plant’s extension. #GovernorNewsom facilitated another transfer of taxpayer dollars to PG&E through an additional $400 million loan from the state’s general fund, included in the recent budget deal. Critics warn that these 'loans' will never be repaid, meaning residents will be fully subsidizing the Diablo extension – from federal and state tax dollars to our utility fees.

"But there is a way out. SB 846 allows the #CPUC to retire the plant earlier than 2030 if sufficient levels of new renewable zero-carbon energy resources exist, are interconnected, and meet demand, which is the case.

"CPUC has a long track record of serving PG&E’s interests, so intervention by the commission is unlikely. One example of many that demonstrates their close relationship: CPUC is not requiring PG&E to show how much of our utility bill actually goes to the Diablo extension, but instead lumps the cost in with 'public purpose programs,' making it impossible to determine.

"While communities are demanding an early shutdown of Diablo, PG&E is currently applying for a 20-year license renewal from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission [#NRC] for the facility, which is expected to be approved. This would mean customers will foot the bill to keep this dangerous nuclear facility running through 2045, far beyond the original expiration dates of 2024 and 2025.

"CPUC has proven their unwavering support time and again for PG&E’s monopoly control over the state’s energy system at the expense of residents’ safety and affordable rates. The Diablo Canyon nuclear plant is just another mechanism to squeeze ratepayers and line the pockets of shareholders who live far away from the dangers posed by this aging facility. Only a public takeover of this #corrupt utility can win clean, safe and affordable energy for all."

Source:
https://www.liberationnews.org/diablo-canyon-nuclear-plant-brings-profits-for-pge-deadly-risk-for-residents/

#PGAndE #RethinkNotRestart #NuclearCorruption #NuclearBailouts #RenewablesNow #NoNukes
#DiabloCanyonNuclearPlant
#NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies #California #WaterIsLife #OceansAreLife

#California regulators vote to extend #DiabloCanyon nuclear plant operations through 2030

California energy regulators have voted to allow the #DiabloCanyonNuclearPlant to operate for an additional five years, despite calls from #environmental groups to shut it down

AP, December 14, 2023,

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- “California energy regulators voted Thursday to allow the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant to operate for an additional five years, despite calls from environmental groups to shut it down.

“The California Public Utilities Commission agreed to extend the shutdown date for the state's last functioning nuclear power facility through 2030 instead of closing it in 2025 as previously agreed.

“Separately, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission will consider whether to extend the plant’s operating licenses.
“The twin reactors, located midway between #LosAngeles and #SanFrancisco began operating in the mid-1980s. They supply up to 9% of the state’s electricity on any given day.

“The Public Utilities Commission's decision marks the latest development in a long fight over the operation and safety of the plant, which sits on a bluff above the #PacificOcean.

“In August, a state judge rejected a lawsuit filed by #FriendsOfTheEarth that sought to block Pacific Gas & Electric, which operates the plant, from seeking to extend its operating life.

“And in October, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission rejected a request from #environmental groups to immediately shut down one of two reactors.

"PG&E agreed in 2016 to shutter the plant by 2025, but at the direction of the state changed course and now intends to seek a longer operating run for the plant, which doesn't produce greenhouse gases that can contribute to climate change.

“Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who once was a leading voice to close the plant, said last year that Diablo Canyon’s power is needed beyond 2025 to ward off possible blackouts as California transitions to solar and other renewable energy sources.

“#Activists condemned the extension and noted that the projected #costs of continuing to run the aging plant are expected to top $6 billion.

“’This ill-conceived decision will further escalate financial strain on California ratepayers and extend the threat of a catastrophe at Diablo Canyon,' said #KenCook, president of the nonprofit #EnvironmentalWorkingGroup.

'With California’s annual #RenewableEnergy additions exceeding Diablo Canyon’s output, there is zero reason to keep it running,' he added in a statement.”

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/california-regulators-vote-extend-diablo-canyon-nuclear-plant-105678694

#NoNukes #RethinkNotRestart #WaterIsLife #RenewablesNow! #WindPower #TidalPower