Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer said yesterday she'd hold off a confirmation vote for President Obama's nominee to lead the Nuclear Regulatory Commission until she obtains information about the safety of aging U.S. reactors.
The California Democrat has demanded NRC release papers related to Southern California Edison's broken San Onofre plant in California before a vote on Allison Macfarlane to lead the agency for a full five-year term comes before the energy committee.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Electricity customers likely will foot a large part of the bill for more than $3 billion in costs associated with the failed San Onofre nuclear plant, the top executive of the facility's owner said this week.
The 2,250-megawatt plant between Los Angeles and San Diego, closed since January 2012 due to a small radiation leak, will never reopen, utility officials announced late last week. As the debate gears up over who should pay for more than $3 billion in replacement power, operations and maintenance, and long-term investments in the plant itself, utility officials are arguing that ratepayers have ponied up in previous situations where plants have shut down ahead of schedule.
The permanent closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in California puts the carbon-conscious state in the hunt for replacement supplies of electricity that don't emit greenhouse gases.
The facility, located in north San Diego County, produced 2,200 megawatts of zero-carbon power, enough to juice 1.4 million Southern California homes. Its retirement means the Golden State must juggle the simultaneous demands of keeping the lights on and complying with a climate law mandating cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer said yesterday she's still waiting on a "handful" of additional documents from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission before she will advance the nominee to lead the agency, despite the announced closure of a controversial nuclear plant that Boxer had criticized.
The debate over whether to reopen the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station is over. Now a new one begins: Who will pay the costs that the plant's owner puts at more than $3 billion?
The devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan has spawned a major nuclear disaster. E&E examines the implications for energy, the environment, security and public health.
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Nuclear Nation
Scores of nuclear power reactors dot the United States. There are 103 reactors that are licensed to operate and 14 undergoing decommissioning. Many others are in planning stages; the four furthest along in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing process are shown on this map. Click on a site icon for more details on the U.S. NRC website.
Proposed and expected to proceed to final NRC licensing