CALIFORNIA'S LAST NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

ABOUT

The Diablo Canyon Power Plant is located in San Luis Obispo County near Avila Beach, occupying approximately 900 acres of land on the Pacific Coast. In 2013, it became the only operational nuclear power plant in California after the shut down of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Diablo Canyon is owned and managed by PG&E, and the actual power-generating portion sits on only 12 of the 900 total acres taken up by the plant. It consists of two Westinghouse-designed 4-loop pressurized-water nuclear reactors, and it provides approximately 8.6% of California’s electricity, which translates to serving the electrical needs of a little more than 3 million people.

CONTROVERSY

There are a few critical problems with this nuclear power plant, however. When the plant was constructed in the 1980’s, they did not realize that it was located less than one mile from the Shoreline fault line, and less than three miles from the Hosgri fault. The Shoreline fault has been researched and is believed to have the potential to create an earthquake of magnitude 6.5, which could be increased by tectonic movements from the Hosgri fault. However, PG&E claims that the Diablo Canyon facility can withstand an earthquake of up to magnitude 7.5. In any case, I believe that the people of California would not want to test the strength of a nuclear power plant against the strength of our natural world.

ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECT

Another environmental problem with this power plant involves the cooling system that is used to cool the nuclear reactors. Specifically, this cooling system has harmed marine ecosystems by killing fish larvae and other small organisms within coastal regions because of the warm seawater that is discharged from the plant at an extremely high rate of flow. This warm seawater flux into the ocean also causes turbidity, decreasing the photosynthetic potential of phytoplankton in surface waters. PG&E has struggled with this issue, as environmental agencies have been pushing for them to alter their cooling systems to have less environmental impacts. One figure declared that it would take approximately $12 billion to change this cooling system.

RESULT

In June 2016, one of California's largest energy utilities, PG&E, stated that they intend to close Diablo Canyon by 2025 after its operating licenses expire, making California completely free of nuclear power plants. However, this will also mean that California loses 2240 megawatts of carbon-free electricity.