#cascadiansubductionzone — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #cascadiansubductionzone, aggregated by home.social.
-
The #DiabloCanyonNuclearPlant: assessing the seismic risks of extended operation
By Edwin Lyman | August 15, 2022
"In 2016, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) announced a historic agreement with labor and environmental groups to shut down the two-unit Diablo Canyon nuclear plant in California by 2025 and replace its roughly 2,200 megawatts of electricity with low- and zero-carbon renewable energy, energy efficiency, and storage. Today, that agreement is in serious jeopardy after an academic study whose authors include staff from MIT’s partly industry-funded Center for Advanced Energy Systems, combined with a sustained and vocal public relations campaign waged by Diablo Canyon supporters (including a Tik-Tok influencer), have succeeded in raising doubts about the viability of the power replacement plan. Growing concerns about climate change-related impacts on the reliability of the electrical grid have also prompted California governor Gavin Newsom to reconsider his position and seek to keep the plant open, at least in the short term. The US Energy Department’s Office of Nuclear Energy is also doing its part to keep Diablo Canyon open by relaxing the original financial qualification criteria and extending the application deadline by more than three months for its recently established Civil Nuclear Credit Program. This will make it possible for PG&E to apply for a first round of federal subsidies aimed at helping utilities keep nuclear power plants open.
"Although there is some basis for the criticism that PG&E and the State of California are not acting quickly enough to ensure that enough carbon-free power will be available to replace all of Diablo Canyon’s output, the California Public Utilities Commission’s historic decision last year to procure 11,500 megawatts of clean energy resources by 2026, along with 4,000 megawatts of new capacity (mostly battery storage) added to the grid in the last year, should help address that concern. A recent analysis by Gridlab and Telos Energy also found that renewable energy could replace Diablo Canyon and supply 85 percent of California’s electricity by 2030, while keeping the power on for its 40 million residents—even under stressful conditions such as low hydropower generation, retirements of fossil fuel-fired plants, and heatwaves similar to what caused rolling power outages in August 2020.
"Nevertheless, the disagreement over the plant’s future has become a proxy for the larger debate over what role nuclear power should play in addressing climate change, given its safety and security risks. If PG&E’s original plan were to succeed, after all, it could undermine the nuclear advocates’ argument that nuclear power is an irreplaceable asset in all circumstances.
"But if Diablo Canyon is to remain open beyond 2025, PG&E will have to address a number of difficult issues. First, the company will have to prepare a new 20-year license renewal application and submit it to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) before the expiration of Unit 1’s operating license in 2024. PG&E will also have to undertake extensive inspections and equipment upgrades that were indefinitely postponed after it made the decision to shut the plant, as discussed in a June 2022 meeting of the Diablo Canyon Independent Safety Committee. And finally, it must take a hard look at the vulnerability of the plant to earthquakes and consider the need to make seismic upgrades to minimize the risk to the public over the period of extended operation.
"Conflicting information on the seismic question has been reported. A spokesperson for the California Public Utility Commission was quoted as saying that if PG&E were to resume the license renewal proceeding for the plant, it would need to make seismic upgrades. However, this statement is not consistent with the NRC’s current position. Following a review conducted in the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima accident in Japan, the agency concluded that no seismic upgrades at Diablo Canyon or any other US nuclear plants were necessary, because the health and safety risks to the public were acceptable. Since the NRC has sole authority over the radiological safety aspects of Diablo Canyon, this means that the plant owner will not have to spend a penny to strengthen its seismic protection, no matter what the state of California wants.
"Arguably, however, the NRC is not doing enough to reduce the risk that a severe earthquake could cause a Fukushima-like core meltdown and radiation release at Diablo Canyon (or, for that matter, other seismically vulnerable nuclear plants in the country). The agency, as part of its drive to transform into a more “risk-informed” regulator, cites the low calculated radiological risk to the public from nuclear plant accidents to justify not taking action to increase safety across a wide range of areas, including seismic protection. But there’s a major problem with this approach: Assessing the seismic risk involves understanding both the uncertainties associated with nuclear accidents and the even larger unknowns encountered in trying to predict earthquake behavior. These uncertainties raise doubts whether the seismic risks can be calculated with sufficient precision to support the NRC’s complacency.
"Although other nuclear plants are also seismically vulnerable, according to current information, the potential peak ground motion that the Diablo Canyon site may experience from an earthquake occurring every 10,000 years on average is far higher than any other US plant. But it is also important to consider this value in relation to the seismic standard that the plant was designed and built to meet and that is used as the basis for inspection and regulatory enforcement. Diablo Canyon’s seismic risk actually may be lower than some other US reactors because, given its location, it was originally designed with additional earthquake resistance. But that doesn’t mean it is safe enough. Serious questions persist about whether Diablo Canyon’s design basis and 'current licensing basis' meet a high enough seismic standard to adequately protect the public.'"
#CascadianSubductionZone #California #RethinkNotRestart #NoNukesForAI #RenewablesNow #NoNukes
-
#NRC agrees to reevaluate #SeismicRisk at #DiabloCanyonNuclearPlant
Tue, Sep 3, 2024, 4:01PM
Nuclear News"In response to a petition filed by #environmental groups earlier this year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will reinvestigate earthquake fault lines and the potential for seismic activity and ensuing damage at California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.
“ 'This is a major step forward and a clear acknowledgment that our concerns are valid,' said Diane Curran, legal counsel for Mothers for Peace, about the NRC’s decision. 'It’s rare for the [commission] to review a petition of this nature, highlighting the . . . seriousness of the seismic risks involved.'
"Critics of Diablo Canyon, which is California’s only remaining nuclear plant, say previous environmental reports about the site significantly underestimate the likelihood of a severe earthquake.
"Owner Pacific Gas & Electric has long contested claims of danger due to seismic activity, since Diablo Canyon was built and retrofitted to withstand powerful earthquakes. In March 2023, PG&E received approval from the NRC in the form of a 'timely renewal' exemption to continue operating the Diablo Canyon reactors beyond their retirement dates of 2024 and 2025. Later that year, in December, the California Public Utilities Commission voted to extend the life of the plant an additional five years. A 20-year license renewal application for plant’s two reactors is currently under review with the NRC."
Read more:
https://www.ans.org/news/article-6353/nrc-agrees-to-reevaluate-seismic-risk-at-diablo-canyon/#NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #RethinkNotRestart #MothersForPeace #CascadianSubductionZone #Earthquakes #PacificGasAndElectric
-
#NRC agrees to reevaluate #SeismicRisk at #DiabloCanyonNuclearPlant
Tue, Sep 3, 2024, 4:01PM
Nuclear News"In response to a petition filed by #environmental groups earlier this year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will reinvestigate earthquake fault lines and the potential for seismic activity and ensuing damage at California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.
“ 'This is a major step forward and a clear acknowledgment that our concerns are valid,' said Diane Curran, legal counsel for Mothers for Peace, about the NRC’s decision. 'It’s rare for the [commission] to review a petition of this nature, highlighting the . . . seriousness of the seismic risks involved.'
"Critics of Diablo Canyon, which is California’s only remaining nuclear plant, say previous environmental reports about the site significantly underestimate the likelihood of a severe earthquake.
"Owner Pacific Gas & Electric has long contested claims of danger due to seismic activity, since Diablo Canyon was built and retrofitted to withstand powerful earthquakes. In March 2023, PG&E received approval from the NRC in the form of a 'timely renewal' exemption to continue operating the Diablo Canyon reactors beyond their retirement dates of 2024 and 2025. Later that year, in December, the California Public Utilities Commission voted to extend the life of the plant an additional five years. A 20-year license renewal application for plant’s two reactors is currently under review with the NRC."
Read more:
https://www.ans.org/news/article-6353/nrc-agrees-to-reevaluate-seismic-risk-at-diablo-canyon/#NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #RethinkNotRestart #MothersForPeace #CascadianSubductionZone #Earthquakes #PacificGasAndElectric
-
#NRC agrees to reevaluate #SeismicRisk at #DiabloCanyonNuclearPlant
Tue, Sep 3, 2024, 4:01PM
Nuclear News"In response to a petition filed by #environmental groups earlier this year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will reinvestigate earthquake fault lines and the potential for seismic activity and ensuing damage at California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.
“ 'This is a major step forward and a clear acknowledgment that our concerns are valid,' said Diane Curran, legal counsel for Mothers for Peace, about the NRC’s decision. 'It’s rare for the [commission] to review a petition of this nature, highlighting the . . . seriousness of the seismic risks involved.'
"Critics of Diablo Canyon, which is California’s only remaining nuclear plant, say previous environmental reports about the site significantly underestimate the likelihood of a severe earthquake.
"Owner Pacific Gas & Electric has long contested claims of danger due to seismic activity, since Diablo Canyon was built and retrofitted to withstand powerful earthquakes. In March 2023, PG&E received approval from the NRC in the form of a 'timely renewal' exemption to continue operating the Diablo Canyon reactors beyond their retirement dates of 2024 and 2025. Later that year, in December, the California Public Utilities Commission voted to extend the life of the plant an additional five years. A 20-year license renewal application for plant’s two reactors is currently under review with the NRC."
Read more:
https://www.ans.org/news/article-6353/nrc-agrees-to-reevaluate-seismic-risk-at-diablo-canyon/#NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #RethinkNotRestart #MothersForPeace #CascadianSubductionZone #Earthquakes #PacificGasAndElectric
-
#NRC agrees to reevaluate #SeismicRisk at #DiabloCanyonNuclearPlant
Tue, Sep 3, 2024, 4:01PM
Nuclear News"In response to a petition filed by #environmental groups earlier this year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will reinvestigate earthquake fault lines and the potential for seismic activity and ensuing damage at California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.
“ 'This is a major step forward and a clear acknowledgment that our concerns are valid,' said Diane Curran, legal counsel for Mothers for Peace, about the NRC’s decision. 'It’s rare for the [commission] to review a petition of this nature, highlighting the . . . seriousness of the seismic risks involved.'
"Critics of Diablo Canyon, which is California’s only remaining nuclear plant, say previous environmental reports about the site significantly underestimate the likelihood of a severe earthquake.
"Owner Pacific Gas & Electric has long contested claims of danger due to seismic activity, since Diablo Canyon was built and retrofitted to withstand powerful earthquakes. In March 2023, PG&E received approval from the NRC in the form of a 'timely renewal' exemption to continue operating the Diablo Canyon reactors beyond their retirement dates of 2024 and 2025. Later that year, in December, the California Public Utilities Commission voted to extend the life of the plant an additional five years. A 20-year license renewal application for plant’s two reactors is currently under review with the NRC."
Read more:
https://www.ans.org/news/article-6353/nrc-agrees-to-reevaluate-seismic-risk-at-diablo-canyon/#NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #RethinkNotRestart #MothersForPeace #CascadianSubductionZone #Earthquakes #PacificGasAndElectric
-
#NRC agrees to reevaluate #SeismicRisk at #DiabloCanyonNuclearPlant
Tue, Sep 3, 2024, 4:01PM
Nuclear News"In response to a petition filed by #environmental groups earlier this year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will reinvestigate earthquake fault lines and the potential for seismic activity and ensuing damage at California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.
“ 'This is a major step forward and a clear acknowledgment that our concerns are valid,' said Diane Curran, legal counsel for Mothers for Peace, about the NRC’s decision. 'It’s rare for the [commission] to review a petition of this nature, highlighting the . . . seriousness of the seismic risks involved.'
"Critics of Diablo Canyon, which is California’s only remaining nuclear plant, say previous environmental reports about the site significantly underestimate the likelihood of a severe earthquake.
"Owner Pacific Gas & Electric has long contested claims of danger due to seismic activity, since Diablo Canyon was built and retrofitted to withstand powerful earthquakes. In March 2023, PG&E received approval from the NRC in the form of a 'timely renewal' exemption to continue operating the Diablo Canyon reactors beyond their retirement dates of 2024 and 2025. Later that year, in December, the California Public Utilities Commission voted to extend the life of the plant an additional five years. A 20-year license renewal application for plant’s two reactors is currently under review with the NRC."
Read more:
https://www.ans.org/news/article-6353/nrc-agrees-to-reevaluate-seismic-risk-at-diablo-canyon/#NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #RethinkNotRestart #MothersForPeace #CascadianSubductionZone #Earthquakes #PacificGasAndElectric