Here it is, the middle of our January winter, and it is cold
and rainy...wish we could have some of that global warming about now! The good news though, is that the
decommissioning of the Humboldt Bay nuclear power plant is coming to a close
within the next couple of years. All
the radioactive contamination is gone away (?) and site cleanup and restoration
is in full progress...a job well done, but still needing a few more millions of
dollars from ratepayers to finish.
The big concern now is with the Diablo Canyon twin reactors
down south. They are scheduled to close
in 2024, and a decommissioning plan is beginning to take form. The cost estimates have gone from $1billion
in 1988 (which we then successfully determined as a base price over PG&E's
objections) to $2.5b in 2012, $3.8b in 2016, and now at $4.8b. PG&E is asking the state PUC for an
additional $1.6b to be added to the existing decommissioning fund by raising
customers electricity rates by as much as 5%. (1) It is doubtful that they
would say no, since by law, the plant has to be decommissioned! From an industry that has such an atrocious
history of underestimating costs, some of us believe the final tab might be
$10b, $15b...???? many years into the future.
Cheap nuclear power, and an answer to our climate change problems? Then there is the issue of spent fuel...high
level wastes, low level wastes, etc. etc.
Mindboggling $$$$$$ssss.
But here is the serious concern we have today. PG&E is in bankruptcy, due in part to
the climate change induced catastrophic fires that have ravaged northern
California, and their liability due to “corporate” mismanagement of both their
electricity and natural gas divisions.
$34 billion in debt...whatever all that means. One of their largest assets is Diablo Canyon. What happens to that...do they keep it, even
though it is in reality a money loser compared to natural gas and now
renewables. Do they sell it to someone
to raise cash? (2) That is being done in other states, such as the shut down
“Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant which recently sold to the Northstar Group
for a symbolic and nominal $1,000...plus its $506 million decommissioning trust
fund.” Decom estimates for that plant
now stand at $1.2b. The new owners say
they can decommission it at a lower cost.
Maybe!!! What happens down the
road if they can't...gosh, they might go into bankruptcy, pay off the
executives and lawyers huge bonuses, and leave the folks in Vermont continuing
to foot the bill. Westinghouse, General
Electric, GM, PG&E... Can that
happen with Diablo Canyon? They have a
federal nuclear license that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversees...gosh,
the federal government is shut down...and even if/when it is up and running
again, this dysfunctional agency will play the political games with the
industry that they have been playing for so many years. We've got to keep our eyes on these
guys...it is ultimately the “little guy” that gets screwed.
The nuclear industry continues to push the idea that nuclear
power is the answer to climate change.
Not true!! Partially solving one
problem and creating a whole host of others.
Ongoing efforts to clean up the “back end” of nuclear power continues to
drain billions of dollars from ratepayers and taxpayers. San Onofre, Oyster Creek, Vogle, Hanford,
Fukushima, the UK...the list goes on and on around the world. Japan, which has only one reactor running
out of 53 in their fleet, estimates it would need to spend about 1.9 trillion
yen ($17.1 billion) to close 79 facilities over the next 70 years, in its first
such estimate.(3) Pretty cheap estimate, as usual. The current estimate for Fukushima is close to $200b. Still no solution to wastes disposal
issues. Beyond mindboggling!
Meanwhile, in spite of ALL the obstacles placed on
renewables by the current administration, the outlook is good, and could really
be 10x better if we put our minds and dollars to it. “EIA’s latest inventory of electric generators estimates that
23.7 gigawatts of new capacity additions and 8.3 gigawatts of capacity
retirements are expected for the U.S. electric power sector in 2019. The
utility-scale capacity additions consist of wind (46 percent), natural gas (34
percent), and solar photovoltaics (18 percent), with the remaining 2 percent consisting
primarily of other renewables and battery storage capacity.”(4) According to a 2018 Wood Mackenzie market
report, “between 2018 and 2022, U.S. distributed solar installations will grow
from today’s roughly 2 million to almost 3.8 million. Behind-the-meter battery
storage is also expected to grow from 200 megawatts to almost 1,400 megawatts
during the same timeframe.” (5)
The electricity industry (generators, transm1ssion,
distribution, grid operators, federal and state PUCs) is in utter turmoil. Common sense and common cents will hopefully
prevail, because the “green” transition is so very doable. Stay wake, aware, and tuned in!!!
