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Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes $1.4 billion loan to keep Diablo Canyon open

August 13, 2022

By KAREN VELIE

Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing a $1.4 billion loan to PG&E to help the utility extend the life of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in Avila Beach for five to 10 years, he announced on Friday.

Diablo Canyon, which produces 9% of the state’s electricity, is slated to close in 2025. The extension is “critical to ensure statewide energy system reliability” as the state moves away from fossil fuels, according to Newsom’s proposal.

California planned to produce all of its electricity from clean sources by 2045, but instead has had issues with rolling blackouts and power shortages.

“We are behind where we need to be in bringing our clean resources online to ensure that we can retire these resources,” said Ana Matosantos, cabinet secretary for Gov. Newsom.

Newsom’s proposal is now headed to the California Legislature for a decision.


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I smell a campaign trick… He proposes something he knows the CA legislature and coastal commission won’t approve?… This is for show… He wants to run for higher office and he must not look like a Californian…


14

Perhaps you are correct, but I have faith in MOST Americans to spot a faker.


0

Wow, I think they fall for fake after fake, believing in each as if the were holy icons that will perform miracles for them upon adequate venerations.

Newsome is just the latest trying to position himself as fakir. De Santis is doing the same.


-10

It’s just been wonderful since energy deregulation was instituted by Calif?


21

The federal government has billions of dollars to pay for the decommissioning of the Diablo Canyon power plant. It’s a major project that will employ lots and lots of people in our community, perhaps more than are currently employed there. Decommissioning a power plant is big business and will bring lots of jobs and money to our community. And we better do it while there is money to do it because we don’t want those millions of pounds toxic radioactive waste stored in temporary facilities to be neglected.

Our community should work to make sure the decommissioning is done right. Don’t forget: there are billions of dollars earmarked for decommissioning nuclear power plants in the United States. Let’s not waste this opportunity.


0

Calif has gone for yrs as the don’t build any new power source or water storage and so now Newsom wants to give a monopoly company Billions to keep a old plant open so state has power. Why didn’t the state build other power plants in the past yrs to cover the existing power shortage. They are green stupid that is why. Ca needs more than two major power companies so the price of power will be fair.


26

Bingo, we need fossil fuel backups. Everyone who has independent solar/wind knows this. None of these green technofixes are cure alls.


8

Any extra money should be used to subsidize roof-top solar for small users. I’m guessing $1.4 billion would be a long-lasting solution for California’s energy supply rather than a short-term solution of investing in an aging nuclear plant.


-6

This loan may be unnecessary as the federal government has just passed the Inflation Reduction Act which has $30 billion for propping up aging nuclear facilities.


A mistake, in my opinion, but I get it that officials are fearful of blackouts and not having enough power as we transition to zero-emission vehicles. I just hope the earth stays stable.


When I was in college in the 70’s and plate tectonics was the newest thing, we learned that the Pacific plate continues to crash into the continental plate and that the Sierra-Nevada mountains are still rising.


Thus, there are a series of faults under our earth that continue to shift as that mountain building continues. The Shoreline fault, a vein, so to speak, of the San Andreas fault line, is directly under Diablo. For the last several years these faults have been relatively quiet, but what happens when they’re not and we get a series of large quakes?


Oh well, hopefully all continues well until we have enough renewable energy to finally see the death of nuclear.


-36

Fukushima was 33 feet above sea level. Unbelievably, the plants’ natural site elevation was lowered by TEPCO from 115 feet. Japan has hurricanes, aka, kamikaze, divine wind. Nuts

Diablo is at 85 feet.


-5

What, now?


I am ever more distressed over the state of public education that so many Americans are unable to state a cogent argument.


Diablo is indeed 85 feet above sea level, but my point was that the Shoreline fault lurking just under the nuclear reactor could produce an earthquake at least the size of the 1971 Sylmar quake which produced $500 million in damages (in 1970’s currency) and cost the lives of 64 individuals. I fear a quake of that size directly under Diablo would cause a thousand times more damage and casualties, despite what experts say about the hardening of the plant.


-6

So are the ratepayers going to get a refund for all the closing costs they have been paying, and all the agencies that got closing assistance going to pay back that money?


38

That’s a great point. Wishful thinking, but a great point. Don’t hold your breath.


24

I’m glad these idiots forced PG&E to begin closing Diablo down years ago only to pull their head out of their asses to realize that this is one of the safest and cleanest forms of energy. What did that cost us? More Jokes for Votes.


59

I don’t think any “idiots” forced anyone to do anything. Diablo Canyon’s reactor had about a 40-year lifespan. PG&E made the decision without government interference to close Diablo rather than spend billions to repurpose the reactor.


It’s holding to that position (PG&E’s current financial situation is tenuous) and that’s why the governor is seeking a loan to help retrofit the plant for another span of years. I don’t believe this process will cost you anything other than your regular electricity rates which would have risen no matter what PG&E did with Diablo.


-13

Actually they were kinda forced by the state when the state lands commission along with the coastal commission held their lease to intake cooling water hostage unless pg&e promised not to persue relicensing. Ironically enough Newsom was head of those entities when all this occured. He wanted it to be his legacy that’s her forced Diablo to close, and now he has flopped like a true politician. I really hope this clown does run for presidency, I can’t wait to see the ads of all the “great” things he’s done for California.


6

Bullshit, Newsom had nothing to do with it. PG&E made this decision six years ago when Brown was still governor. They simply did not want to invest the required capital to retrofit the reactor. Fire liability was already weighing heavy on their books and they had found that natural gas was cheaper than the cost of expanding the life of Diablo.


The state government was not part of the equation for this decision. It is true that Democratic politicians have railed against nuclear power for over 40 years—I marched at Diablo along with Bill Deneen and Jackson Browne back in 1979 to keep the plant from opening. I’m still resolute on that, but to say the closing of this plant is all on Democrats is ridiculous.


And I hope Newsom does run. He’s definitely ready to call out the utter crap that has infested the Republican Party since 2016. He has plenty to run on. California is now the fifth largest economy in the world and is consistently growing. Newsom’s reaction to the pandemic was excellent, with California ranking well ahead of every Republican run state other than Utah and Nebraska in per capita deaths from the virus.


Moreover, under Democratic governors over the last 12 years, the state has gone from a protracted annual deficit of at least $12 billion in 2012 to a 2021 surplus of $91 billion. Not only that, but California remains a pro-choice state where women are not subject to the draconian laws of a Christian-Nationalist mentality that seems the norm for many right-wing states.


Anyway, my opposition to Diablo is a moot point. The Inflation Reduction Act will allow the repurposing of the reactor for another 20 years. Let’s just hope a large scale earthquake does not hit our coast during that time.


-11

To be correct it is the Hosgri fault or the south end of the 250 mile San Gregorio-Hosgri fault. It is true PG&E PACs gave tons of money to Newsome even though he was one of the biggest whiners whenever his distribution circuit would lockout. Newsome back-stabbed and used PG&E’s fire ignition to bear all the blame to deflect from a decade of bad Forestry management as displayed by the push for control burn intervention and stepped up tree trimming that were inhibited by regulation in the past.

The Westinghouse reactors were built for an 80 year lifecycle. The 4 steam generators (heat exchangers between the primary coolant and secondary steam systems) per unit last 22-25 years before they need to be replaced. San Onofre got a bad batch of leaking steam generators from Mitsubishi which changed their economics, but the ones at Diablo seem to be holding up better. I seem to recall DCPP replaced them on both units around 2009, so the steam generators should be good until 2031. The rest of the heat exchangers or their tubes are replaceable.

The government interfered in 2010 with the Water Resources Board havng tunnel vision on once-through cooling. They had PG&E and other experts study retrofitting with cooling towers to save sea larvae which would cost billions. Those billions would have gone in the general rate case and electric bills would have gone up. The Moss Landing batteries are getting 1/3 of their charge between 1:00 to 5:00AM with imports from Washington hydro and 4 corners nuke and CA fossil plants. As more batteries are added, more charging will occur after dark. In essence, the Water Resources Board never examined if the water vapor coming off cooling towers would be worse for the earth’s climate change than the benefit of not heating the ocean for a 1/4 mile radius. I fully understand metropolitan area smog (photochemical reaction of CO) is a problem. But, to use a 1968 theory on CO2 that no one can prove to promote a green electric grid is to actually sabotage the reliability of the grid. To quote my favorite mechanical engineer Daniel Pangburn that has spent the last 20 year of his retirement researching climate, “Water vapor is the only gas that is active at IR wavelengths associated with earth temperatures that has a significant effect on climate. WV has been increasing 1.44%/decade and can explain all warming associated with human activity.” The politicians have sold the public a pig-in-a-poke while picking energy favorites based on theories, so they could give enriching opportunities to their green energy cronies. The grid will continue to suffer while lawmakers pick favorites based on who their green donors are. I frequently watch generation by going to the CAISO website, then click Today’s Outlook tab at the top (or directly from Google search), then click SUPPLY tab next to the Demand tab a couple inches down.


2

First and only smart thing he has come up with….


28

Here we go again. The taxpayer once again bailing out P.G.&E. It’s not surprising to see Newsome pushing for this. After all, they were one of the biggest financial supporters during his recall. Their lobbyist were also part of the infamous maskless group of hypocrites meeting at the fancy French restaurant during the height of the pandemic.

While I support the idea of Diablo Canyon staying open, this private union company should stand on their own two feet financially for this to happen.

We’re already paying for their incompetence and failure of their power grid. The multiple large fires of destruction and deaths that were caused by them, we pay for the bailout every month on our bills. If you remember, P.G.&E. lobbied the California Public Utilities Commision to fund their responsibility in the lawsuits from those fires with rate increases to customers. The Newsom led state commission were more than happy to approve it as payback for their support financially to Newsom and the rest of the Progressive elitist who run this once great state. What a crock of …..


21

You are absolutely right about him being friends with PGE, they have contributed to his campaigns with large donations. BUT, elite politicians who call themselves republican or democrat also take these money’s and vote dearly to keep finance contribution laws in place to get money. Evil is evil. People are people first, religion second, political third.


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