The Economist - USA (2021-11-13)

The Economist November 13th 2021 UnitedStates 37

nuclearpowerbecauseof  the  promise  of
renewables,  such  as  wind  and  solar,  and
the growth of “community choice aggrega­
tors”,  which  allow  local  municipalities  to
decide where they get their power from. 
Three  things  have  changed  since  then.
First,  California  passed  SB100  in  2018,
which  requires  the  state  to  achieve  100%
clean­power  generation  by  2045.  Second,
the south­west is suffering from what pa­
leoclimatologists think is its second­worst
megadrought  in  1,200  years.  Reservoirs
across  the  region  are  drying  up,  limiting
the supply of hydroelectric power. Just 11%
of  California’s  in­state  power  generation
came from hydro in 2020, a 44% drop from
2019 (see chart). Electricity from clean­en­
ergy  sources  (including  nuclear)  made  up
51%  of  California’s  power  generation  last
year, down from 57% in 2019. 
Third, a heatwave in August of 2020 led
to rolling blackouts across the state as de­
mand  for  electricity  (to  power  air­condi­
tioners) outpaced supply. California’s pub­
lic  utilities  commission  is  scrambling  to
meet increased demand. The regulator re­
cently ordered utility companies to buy up
renewable energy and battery storage to try
to offset the impending loss of Diablo. 
These  three  trends  led  researchers  to
ponder  how  keeping  the  plant  running
might change California’s energy outlook.
They  found  that  to  keep  it  going  to  2035,
ten years past its current operating licence
issued  by  the  nrc,  would  cut  emissions,
bolster  the  grid’s  reliability  and  save  the
state $2.6bn. The analysis shows that Dia­
blo’s  continued  operation  would  reduce
the carbon emissions from power genera­
tion by 11% each year from 2017 levels. And
unlike wind and solar power, nuclear ener­
gy  provides  a  stable  source  of  electricity
unaffected by changes in weather. 
The researchers also suggest that Diablo
could potentially help California make its
power  sector  greener  and  tackle  water
shortages  by  producing  hydrogen  or  po­

weringasalt­waterdesalinationplantin

addition to generating electricity. “You

cannotaffordtotaketechnologysolutions

off the table” when pursuing net­zero

goals,saysJacopoBuongiorno,oneofthe

authorsanda nuclearscientistatmit. “All

oftheaboveisreallythebeststrategy.”

ItisonethingtoproveDiablo’svalue,

andquiteanothertoreverseitsretirement.

Alawaimedatprotectingmarineecosys­

temswouldforcetheplanttoreplaceits

water­intakesystem,whichcoolsitsreac­

tors,witha newsystemthatreducesthein­

takeflowrateby93%.Itwouldalsorequire

PG&etoreopenits 2018 settlementandre­

licensetheplant,whichcanbeanonerous

process;orsellDiablotoanotherutility.

Fissionimpossible?

ThedebateoverDiabloCanyonreflectsthe

recentrebrandingofnuclear.SteveNesbit,

presidentoftheAmericanNuclearSociety,

saysthreethingshappenedinthe2000sto

puta damperonnuclearpowerinAmerica:

fracking took off,the financial crisisof

2007­08 lesseneddemand for electricity

andtheFukushimaaccidentspookedpoli­

ticians. The plants that were commis­

sionedweredelayedandover­budget.Yet

evidenceshowsthatwhennuclearreactors

shutdown,pollutingfossilfuelsmakeup

thedifference.

Evenwhileplantsarebeingshutdown,

nuclearpowerisgaininginappeal.Envi­

ronmentalgroupshavelongbeensceptical

ofnuclearbecauseofthetoxicwasteit pro­

duces,orbecausetheywereagainstnuc­

learweapons.JessicaLovering,thefoun­

derofGoodEnergyCollective,whichaims

tobuildthe“progressivecasefornuclear

energy”,saystoday’sclimateactivistsare

morepragmatic,andfocusedonnuclear’s

lack ofcarbon emissions. Shecites the

SunriseMovementasa groupthatisnot

necessarily pro­nuclear, but is against

closingdownexistingplants.

Nuclearisresponsiblefornearly20%of

America’spowergenerationandabouthalf

ofitscleanenergy.A surveyfromecoAmer­

icafoundthat56%ofDemocratssupported

nuclearpower in2020,upfrom37%in

2018. “Young people these days maybe
      don'tbringwiththemthebaggageoftheir
      parentsandgrandparents,whowereraised
      duringthecoldwar,intheirviewofnuc­
      learpower,”saysMrNesbit.
      Policyisslowlycatchingup.Pro­nuc­
      leargroupspointtotheuseof“cleanelec­
      tricity”or“zero­carbon”languageinstate
      andfederalclimatetargetsasa waytoleave
      thedooropenfornuclear,ratherthanre­
      quiring renewables. Jennifer Granholm,
      PresidentJoeBiden’senergysecretary,told
      a crowdatCOP26,theglobalclimatecon­
      ferenceinGlasgow,thatnuclearenergyis
      an“essential tool” in decarbonisingthe
      grid.RepublicansandDemocratsalikeare
      excitedaboutthepotentialforconverting
      coal plantsinto nuclear powerstations.
      WhenTerraPower,a companyfoundedby
      BillGates,announcedthatitwouldbuilda
      nuclearreactoratthesiteofa closingcoal
      plant in Wyoming, Ms Granholm, the
      state’sRepublicangovernoranditssenior
      senatorwere inattendance. The federal
      governmentisalsosubsidisingtheproject
      tothetuneof$80m.
      Butnuclearpowerstillfacesseveralob­
      stacles.Expertssaythebiggestisthepro­
      hibitivecostofbuildinga newplant.New
      designs,suchasTerraPower’s,mayhelp
      withthis.Manystates,includingCalifor­
      nia,alsohavedefactobansonbuilding
      newreactorsuntilradioactivewastecanbe
      permanentlydisposedof.Thefederalgov­
      ernmenttriedfordecadestobuilda nuc­
      learwasterepositoryatYuccaMountainin
      southernNevada,butmetstiffresistance
      fromlocalpoliticianswhodidn’twantthe
      stuffburiedintheirbackyard.
      ThefirstofDiablo’sreactorswillloseits
      licencein2024.Thereport’sauthorshope
      theGoldenStatewillcometoitssensesbe­
      fore then. “The circumstances have
      changed,” says Ejeong BaikofStanford.
      “DiabloCanyonpresentsanopportunity,”
      sheadds.WillCaliforniatakeit?n

Power hungry

California, in-state electricity generation

By power source, % of total

Source:California Energy Commission

100

80

60

40

20

0

2019181716152014

Nuclear Hydro Wind Solar Other

Natural gas

Nuclear nipples nixed