The poll, commissioned by lobby group Carbon Free California, shows that 58 percent of Californians support extending the life of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power station with only 32 percent opposing it.
According to the poll, local residents appreciate the benefits of a nuclear power plants, including reducing the probability of power outages (77 percent), saving more than $2bn on electricity bills (76 percent) and providing a reliable source of electricity as the state energy transitions to renewable energy (75 percent).
Diablo Canyon-1 and -2 are pressurised water reactor units that began commercial operation in the mid-1980s. They are the only operating commercial reactors in California and both are scheduled to be retired when their current licences expire – in November 2024 for Unit 1 and August 2025 for Unit 2.
California governor Gavin Newsom said recently he intends to explore options for continued operation of the facility. Mr Newsom will seek federal funding to support nuclear power plants under president Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
In a commentary on non-profit news website Cal Matters, representatives of The Breakthrough Institute think-tank said California will need Diablo Canyon’s electrical generation to keep the lights on, and Mr Newsom should be leading the charge to accomplish that.
The think-tank’s deputy director Alex Trembath and its director of innovation Adam Stein said Diablo Canyon generates almost nine percent of the state’s total electricity and does so profitably. It does not require financial rescue by the federal government.
Earlier this year, dozens of scientists wrote an open letter to Mr Newsom urging him to reverse the scheduled closure of Diablo Canyon. “We are convinced it is impossible to replace the carbon-free electric output of Diablo Canyon at or near the time the plants are scheduled to close,” wrote the scientists, including two former US energy secretaries.
An MIT/Stanford University study said keeping the plant open until 2035 would save $2.6bn in power system costs. It said operating the plant for even longer – up to 2045 and beyond – would save $21bn in power system costs and provide other benefits for land and water.
The study said delaying the shutdown could provide multiple benefits by simultaneously helping to stabilise the state’s electric grid, provide desalinated water to supplement the area’s chronic water shortages, and provide carbon-free hydrogen fuel for transportation.
