PG&E to close Diablo Canyon, California's last nuclear power plant

[Zorro]

Source: LA Times

California’s last nuclear power plant will be phased out by 2025, under a joint proposal announced Tuesday morning by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and labor and environmental groups.

Under the proposal, the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County would be retired by PG&E after its current Nuclear Regulatory Commission operating licenses expire in November 2024 and August 2025.

The power produced by Diablo Canyon’s two nuclear reactors would be replaced with investment in a greenhouse-gas-free portfolio of energy efficiency, renewables and energy storage, PG&E said in a statement.

The proposal is contingent on a number of regulatory actions, including approvals from the California Public Utilities Commission.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-diablo-canyon-nuclear-20160621-snap-story.html

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The times they are a'changin'.

[edhopper]

1. And conservatives keep saying

we can't get rid of fossil fuel without nuclear.
Another Zombie idea that won't die, even after repeated debunking.

[AtheistCrusader]

3. This isn't a conservative/liberal issue.

Nuclear is failing because it is not economically viable. Not because of some grand environmental protection scheme.

I'd take a nuke plant over a coal plant any day.
But, we've reached a point where we might not have to choose anymore. Nuclear is so expensive, it puts renewables in a positive light, even though they are more expensive than coal or gas.

[edhopper]

4. I agree

but I only see conservatives claiming we can't replace fossil fuels with out it.

And renewables will continue to fall in price. if they got half the subsidies nuclear did, we would be halfway to a non-polluting grid by now.

[AtheistCrusader]

6. I see some rival anti-carbon environmentalist cliques.

Sort of like there are vying environmentalists that want to put offshore wind power in Chesapeake bay, but people who live there want to 'protect the environment' which really means 'protect their view'.. etc.

[edhopper]

7. There is that too

but the nuclear crowd is mostly conservative. Which makes sense, since it's a corporate solution.

[AtheistCrusader]

8. There is that. Privatize profit, socialize risk.

Definitely a trait that can be traced to them.

[edhopper]

9. That's the plan

[upaloopa]

2. I will be driving right past it in about an hour on my way to the beach.

We get our electricity from it and often wonder it being so close to the sea shore could something like what happened in Japan happen here.

[Alex4Martinez]

10. You can't drive by Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant on the way to the beach.

You can drive by the gate that takes you up to the plant, though.

You might be thinking about San Onofre further south in San Diego county, which is shut down now but visible from the highway.

DCPP is remote from the highway, you need clearances just to get on the road that takes you up to the plant.

Once there, it's sight to see!

What happened at Fukushima can't happen here, the Japanese reactor design is older and considerably different which isn't to say nothing bad can ever happen.

The news is good, PG&E will voluntarily not seek recommissioning and this indicates that they have plans in place to be able to dispatch more renewables using utility scale storage and reduce demand through efficiency and conservation measures.

Once the plant is offline, their Helms Pumped Storage hydropower facility will be able to store wind energy generated at night and then let the water fall down to the lower reservoir during peak demand.

I'm not sure what will become of the plant facility. The spent nuclear fuel is stored there so it's likely to remain closed to the public. There were also plans to begin desalination activities for domestic use but that might not happen.

It's a beautiful place there, so I'm kind of excited about the news!

[Xolodno]

11. Driven past that gate a number of times.

One of my favorite places to vacation. There used to be a great place for fish taco's off the pier...its gone sadly.

However, as someone told me in the jacuzzi at the San Luis Bay Inn, the spent nuclear fuel is there because California law makes it impossible for it to be transported. Going to guess PG&E saw the writing on the wall.

But I am happy that its going to be closed, but hope those laid off find new and better jobs.

[upaloopa]

12. I drive by the gate

[Rex]

13. Semantics.

They drove by it as claimed.

[TeamPooka]

5. !!!!! Yay!

[Quackers]

14. Kick