****HEARING POSTPONED DUE TO THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FIRES****

(NO FUTURE DATE HAS BEEN SET YET)

INFORMATIONAL HEARING
A STATUS REPORT ON NUCLEAR POWER

OCEANSIDE CITY HALL CHAMBERS
300 NORTH COAST HIGHWAY
OCEANSIDE, CALIFORNIA
OCTOBER 23, 2007
2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

I. Welcome

• Jim Wood, Mayor
  City of Oceanside

II. Introduction

• Senator Christine Kehoe, Chairwoman
  Senate Energy, Utilities & Communications Committee

III. Overview

• James Boyd, Vice-Chairman
  California Energy Commission

IV. Performance of Existing Nuclear Generating Stations

• Dick Rosenblum, Chief Nuclear Officer
  Southern California Edison
• Donna Jacobs, Vice-President - Nuclear Services
  Pacific Gas & Electric Company

V. Future of the Nuclear Industry: Economics, Greenhouse Gas Impacts, Safety, Waste Disposal

• Mary Quillan, Director - Business and Environmental Policy (PPT)
  Nuclear Energy Institute
• Jim Harding, Consultant (economics)
  Presentation (PDF)
  Introduction
• Jon Block
  Union of Concerned Scientists (nuclear power and global warming)
• Dan Hirsch, President - Committee to Bridge the Gap and Lecturer on Nuclear Policy
  University of California at Santa Cruz (safety and waste disposal)
• Joe Turnage, Senior Vice-President
  Constellation Energy

VI. Concluding Remarks

• James Boyd, Vice-Chairman
  California Energy Commission

INFORMATIONAL HEARING:
A STATUS REPORT ON NUCLEAR POWER
 

Introduction

Nuclear power is undergoing something of a rebirth. Following the accidents at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania and Cherynobl in the former Soviet Union nuclear powerplant construction virtually halted. Concerns about safety, cost, and environmental impacts made nuclear power extremely unattractive virtually everywhere. France has been the exception, with 59 nuclear power plants now accounting for 75% of French electricity production.

However, circumstances have changed. The threat of global warming has rekindled an interest in nuclear power which emits no greenhouse gasses while producing electricity, creating a rift in the environmental community. This benefit, combined with more reliable and safe operation of existing nuclear power plants, has created an opportunity for the nuclear industry to promote a safer and less expensive powerplant design.

Federal law has been favorable to nuclear power as well. Numerous and substantial federal benefits, from liability limitation to loan guarantees to production subsidies, have improved nuclear powerplant economics from an electric customer perspective. As a result, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects to receive 12 applications to build new nuclear powerplants this year, the first in nearly 30 years, and plans for another 15 more next year. (On September 24 NRG Energy became the first to file, with an application to build two very large nuclear reactors in Texas.) New nuclear plants are being built in China, Finland, and Japan.

The long-term nuclear waste disposal issue has not yet been resolved. Yucca Mountain, Nevada has been designated by the Department of Energy to be the repository for the nation’s nuclear waste. DOE is preparing an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to construct the site. If all goes according to plan the DOE expects to accept nuclear waste in 2017. In the meantime waste from nuclear powerplants will be stored at the plant.

 

California and Nuclear Power

California law prohibits the permitting of any new nuclear powerplant unless the California Energy Commission certifies that there exists a demonstrated means of permanent disposal of high-level nuclear waste, or that there exists a technology for the construction and operation of nuclear fuel rod reprocessing plants, if the nuclear power plan requires the reprocessing of fuel rods. The CEC has not made either certification.

There are four nuclear powerplants in California, of which two have been shut down. PG&E’s Humboldt Bay Nuclear Powerplant, located near Eureka, was shuttered in 1976 because of seismic issues. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s much larger Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station, which operated poorly, was shut down in 1989 by a vote of its customers.

The remaining operating nuclear powerplants in California are PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo and the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, jointly owned by Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas and Electric Company, and the cities of Riverside and Anaheim. Additional nuclear power-generated electricity comes from the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (PVNGS), the biggest powerplant in the United States. PVNGS is jointly owned by several utilities, including Southern California Edison, the Southern California Public Power Authority, and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. About 13% of California electricity is generated from nuclear power.

 

Additional Reading

Attached are several articles describing this nuclear renaissance and discussing issues related to nuclear powerplants. While the window of opportunity has been opened for more nuclear powerplants, substantial controversy remains over cost, safety, the greenhouse gas impacts, and waste disposal.  

The California Energy Commission has compiled a large volume of testimony regarding nuclear power as a result of their June hearings. These are availability publicly: http://www.energy.ca.gov/2007_energypolicy/documents/index.html#06252807

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Nuclear Power Primed for Comback
Nuclear Dawn
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