Californians for Green Nuclear Power

  • about
  • faq
  • issues
  • friends

 

Closing Diablo Canyon spurs fears over replacement power

May 17, 2022

California’s power is expensive and polluting – but doesn’t have to be.

The state of California plans to replace Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) mostly with Wyoming coal-fired generation. The source of the replacement power will remain hidden until 2025, when Californians can’t stop the state.

As a nonprofit intervenor before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) since 2016, Californians for Green Nuclear Power (CGNP) has uncovered four obscure clues in CPUC filings that confirm the state’s plan. CGNP’s thousands of pages of filings provide the details.

The first clue is the engineering requirement that since Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant is a reliable 24/7 generator, any incremental replacement generation must have similar reliability. Otherwise, rolling blackouts occur.

Engineers use the term “dispatchable” (under human control) to describe Diablo Canyon’s power. Dispatchable generators that supply power like Diablo Canyon are powered by natural gas or coal. The ongoing drought means building new dams is impractical. While Diablo Canyon is compact, it’s annual production is the equivalent of five Hoover Dams.

Californians demand that California’s coal plants be shut down and they object to new plants powered by natural gas.

Widely-promoted solar and wind aren’t dispatchable. The sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow with sufficient force. Natural gas fills in for solar and wind’s substantial intermittencies. Batteries are extremely expensive — and could optimally be reserved for vehicles to improve air quality, instead of displacing natural gas in power plants.

More (Capitol Weekly)…

Posted in News - Events
Scientists: closing Diablo Canyon could have “catastrophic” consequences
Climate worries galvanize a new pro-nuclear movement in the U.S.

Related Posts

  • Governor Newsom Signs SB 846

    Governor Newsom Signed SB 846 on September 2, 2022.
    read more
  • Climate worries galvanize a new pro-nuclear movement in the U.S.

    “Charles Komanoff was for decades an expert witness for groups working against nuclear plants, delivering
    read more
  • Scientists: closing Diablo Canyon could have “catastrophic” consequences

    “Feb 3 (Reuters) – Nearly 80 scientists and academics, including a former U.S. energy secretary,
    read more
  • IEA: Decline in Nuclear Power Would Threaten Energy Security, Climate Goals

    International Energy Agency
    VANCOUVER – With nuclear power facing an uncertain future in many countries, the world risks
    read more

Categories

  • News – Events

Calendar

March 2023
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Sep    

Search

Follow Us

  • Facebook
Privacy Policy | Contact