Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Have Faith, California

“Have no fear! God will take care of you!”
“How will that occur?” I queried.
“Have faith, and your faith alone will insure that all will work out.”
“Is there an actual plan?” I reiterated.
“Trust us, for we know best!”

Is this an exchange in the Old Testament between the rabbis or prophets and the Jewish people?
Perhaps an overheard discussion between some disillusioned religious military leader and his troops just before a major battle?
Maybe this was from a bad dream that I just had?

Actually, this is a paraphrase of the “non-discussion” between the California Public Utilities Commission and the mostly clueless citizens of California. On 1/11/2018 the PUC voted 5-0, to close down the last remaining Nuclear Power Plant in the Golden State. Yes, the Diablo Nuclear Plant in San Luis Obispo will be closing in six years. This announcement comes just six years after the closure of San Onofre Nuclear Reactor in Southern California in 2012.
When one looks into the status of the world’s nuclear power plants, over the years many have been shut down – often after a finite number of years of service . . . and during the phase out of a functioning plant, a new nuclear facility is either in the planning stage or has already been built. Is this happening in California? (“Is there an actual plan?”) Actually, The plan for the future of energy in California appears rather vague. (“Have no fear; God will take care of you!”)

“This is no retreat from our strong commitment to Green House Gas (GHG) reduction goals,” said PUC Commissioner Rechtschaffer. I found this to be a strange almost oxymoronic remark, because in the long run, the consequences of the closing of a nuclear power plant will logically not be GHG reduction. Diablo Canyon presently generates 18,000 giga-watt hours of power each year, powering 1.7 million homes. Where will the power for these 1.7 million homes come from when Diablo Canyon is closed? That’s a lot of solar panels and/or windmills! (“Have faith!”) Will the closure of Diablo Canyon cause the state to use more natural gas, a fossil fuel and thus increase GHG emissions? Recall that in 2012 after the closure of San Onofre, the state’s usage of natural gas and the consequent Green House Gas emissions increased compared to 2011. (” Have no fear . . . “) While the environmental lobby hailed this PUC decision, a spokesman did state that they were also “concerned about what will be needed to replace this lost generation of power.” Even more perplexing about them applauding this decision, is that nuclear power now accounts for 9.18% of California power without, let me repeat, WITHOUT, producing any Green House Gases! (“Have faith . . . all will work out.”)

Is the PUC in conjunction with the environmentalists ahead of the curve concerning the future of nuclear power, or is California falling further off the track that supports the nuclear power train? At this point it appears that California has flipped the switch and is going off in its own direction. (“Trust us, for we know best!”)
What is the rest of the world doing? While everyone knows about the tsunami in Japan with the resultant radiation leak that occurred many years ago, this experience in Japan is not what is happening in the rest of the world. At the present time, China has a multitude of functioning nuclear power plants and has 19 new nuclear plants under construction in addition to 24 more that are in the planning stages. Even Egypt, closer to the equator and just as sunny as California, is in the process of building four new nuclear plants. The small country of South Korea (population of 51 million, compared to a population of 39+ million in California) presently has 24 operational nuclear reactors, with two under construction, and four more in the planning stages. Only Germany seems to be on the same track as California has chosen to follow.
Keep in mind that if these five individuals on the PUC in California are wrong about the future of nuclear power, it will be decades before that wrong can be righted. In the USA, and especially in California, it takes many, many years from the approval to the actual building and subsequent functioning of a new nuclear power plant.
I doubt that “having faith alone will insure that . . . God will take care of the California electrical power consumer!”

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