Post by Logan on Jun 28, 2016 20:43:55 GMT -6
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California land officials dropped their longstanding environmental objections to the state's last nuclear power plant and signed off Tuesday on a deal to close the Central Coast facility nearly 20 years ahead of its previously planned termination.
The State Lands Commission approved a lease allowing Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to continue operating the Diablo Canyon twin-reactor plant through August 2025, a date the company and environmental groups agreed to last week. Members turned down a proposed environmental impact assessment, which can take years, in part to meet the earlier termination date.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom said keeping the plant open for nine years allows PG&E to avoid the mistakes of Edison International, which terminated its San Onofre nuclear generator in 2013 after hundreds of abrupt layoffs. The company largely replaced the nuclear power with climate-changing natural gas plants.
"Let's not fail the plant," Newsom said. "Let's have the conversation now about what that means to the workforce, what that means to the community, what that means to our efforts to provide alternative energy sources at a competitive price."
Read more: newsok.com/article/feed/1033129?scrolling_list=article_small
The State Lands Commission approved a lease allowing Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to continue operating the Diablo Canyon twin-reactor plant through August 2025, a date the company and environmental groups agreed to last week. Members turned down a proposed environmental impact assessment, which can take years, in part to meet the earlier termination date.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom said keeping the plant open for nine years allows PG&E to avoid the mistakes of Edison International, which terminated its San Onofre nuclear generator in 2013 after hundreds of abrupt layoffs. The company largely replaced the nuclear power with climate-changing natural gas plants.
"Let's not fail the plant," Newsom said. "Let's have the conversation now about what that means to the workforce, what that means to the community, what that means to our efforts to provide alternative energy sources at a competitive price."
Read more: newsok.com/article/feed/1033129?scrolling_list=article_small