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California Nuclear Industry |
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Updated:
August 18, 2006
All four of California's commercial reactors are PWRs (pressurized light water reactors). Each of the four units went on line in the mid 1980's. No early site permits (ESPs) for California locations have been filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and no company has announced any intention to build a nuclear plant in the State. Permanently Shutdown Commercial Reactors: The following California commercial nuclear plants are in various stages of decommissioning: GE VBWR (shut down on December 9, 1963), Humboldt Bay 3 (shut down on July 2, 1976), Rancho Seco (shut down on June 7, 1989), and the number 1 reactor at San Onofre (shut down on November 11, 1992). Nuclear Research and Test Reactors Regulated by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in California: Operating--Aerotest is the licensee for TRIGA (industrial) reactor (power level 250 kilowatts) which was licensed on July 2, 1965, a nuclear test reactor (power level 100 kilowatts) was licensed by General Electric Company on October 31, 1957. The University of California (Davis) licensed a TRIGA reactor (power level 2,300 kilowatts) on August 13, 1998, and the University of California (Irvine) licensed a TRIGA Mark I reactor (power level 250 kilowatts on November 24, 1969. Decommissioning--General Atomics Mark F (1,500 kilowatts), shut down on September 7, 1974, General Atomics Mark I (250 kilowatts) shut down on December 17, 1996; General Electric Company GETR (tank) reactor (power level 50,000 kilowatts) shut down on June 26, 1985, and EVESR reactor (power level 17,000 kilowatts) licensed by General Electric Company was shut down on February 1, 1967.
Nuclear Generation in California in 2005 was 36,155 billion kwh. Electricity generation by nuclear power plants is available for each reactor and each State for the following years: Contribution of Nuclear Power As of January 1, 2005, California ranked 8th among the 31 States with nuclear capacity. In 2004, more than half of the electricity generated by California was supplied by power plants using natural gas. Although fossil fuels yield airborne emissions, natural gas emits less than coal or petroleum. This is a major factor in keeping the State in the lower echelon of sulfur dioxide (41st) emissions among the 50 States plus the District of Columbia) and nitrogen oxides (31st). Natural gas is also lower in carbon dioxide emissions: California ranks 14th in CO2 output among the States. The relatively modest contribution that producing electricity makes to local air pollution is partly attributable to heavy reliance on out-of-State generators. According to EIA’s Electric Power Annual, 2004 annual sales of electricity were 252,764 million kilowatthours but State electricity generation was only 194,780 million kilowatthours, with the remainder coming from out of State.
California Nuclear Highlights
License Renewal Applications for license renewal must be submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). There are no license renewal applications pending for any of California's four commercial reactors. The earliest expiration date for any of the reactors is September 22, 2021 for the number one reactor at Diablo Canyon. Air Quality in California Of the 50 States plus the District of Columbia, the electric industry of the State of California ranked 14th highest in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2004. The State’s electric industry ranks 41st highest in sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions and 31st highest in nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions.
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