Nuclear Crossroad: California Reactors Face Uncertain Future

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle
Sat, 11/28/2015 - 9:31am

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. envisioned Diablo Canyon as a linchpin in the state's green energy future, with its low-carbon electricity illuminating homes to nearly midcentury. The issues in play at Diablo Canyon range from a long-running debate over the ability of structures to withstand earthquakes — one fault runs 650 yards from the reactors — to the possibility PG&E might be ordered by state regulators to spend billions to modify or replace the plant's cooling system, which sucks up 2.5 billions of gallons of ocean water a day and has been blamed for killing fish and other marine life. When PG&E announced its intention to keep the plant running an additional 20 years, to 2044 for the Unit 1 reactor and 2045 for Unit 2, company officials said it would help slash greenhouse gas emissions while contributing to the economic health of California, which has been setting ever-higher ambitions for using solar, wind and other renewable energy sources. An abundance of inexpensive natural gas has owners of older nuclear plants wondering if the money needed to keep them on line will pay off. If the plant shut down it would be a blow to the local economy — it's a major employer in its home county — but state energy experts say it would not pose long-term problems for California's power supply, though they've recommended more study. In a letter to the company, the commission raised the possibility seismic studies could require PG&E to modify foundations or add support structures, and that a longer operating life would require more space to store highly radioactive used fuel — potentially expensive projects that could fall under the commission's authority. The state Independent Peer Review Panel, an arm of the California Public Utilities Commission comprised of scientific experts, has questioned the company's research on the physical properties and structure of rock below the plant, an important factor in how hard the earth could shake during an earthquake.

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