[ RadSafe ] Every State can go Nuclear Free: California shows the way with a blue-green alliance

[Roger Helbig]

Great for climate change and electric cars - hope that they learn how
to use peddle power to cross the Sierras

Roger

Every State can go Nuclear Free: California shows the way with a
blue-green alliance

by Christina MacPherson
economic stimulus provisions for the community of San Luis Obispo and
Diablo Canyon workforce, which is why labor and, most importantly, the
two biggest unions in Diablo are supporting this deal.
There’s even an employee retention and severance program and a
community impacts mitigation program. And, remarkably, PG&E is putting
up money for all of this. The move has garnered the support of the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245 and the
Coalition of California Utility Employees, making it the model for the
future of America’s energy transition

California Is Going Nuclear-Free, Which Means Everyone Else Can, Too,
Fast  Coexist.com MICHAEL SHANK 06.21.16

A historic deal to replace the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant with
renewable energy could be a model for the rest of the country.
"......, a new historic agreement between a major American power
company and environmental groups shows that another way is possible.
America can, in fact, transition off nuclear in the short-term and
replace it with renewable energy, efficiency and energy storage
resources. It’s totally feasible. Take a look at the groundbreaking
agreement:

First, the 100-plus year-old California-based power giant, Pacific Gas
and Electric (PG&E), just agreed to shut down its two 30 year-old
nuclear reactors in Diablo Canyon, letting the licenses expire in 2024
and 2025, respectively. This is a big deal, and it’ll make California,
the world’s sixth largest economy, nuclear free.

This is no small thing. These two PG&E nuclear reactors, which spurred
the start of the environmental organization Friends of the Earth,
comprise roughly 20% of the annual electricity production in the
company’s service territory and 10% of California’s annual production.

That’s a lot of power. And yet the transition off these kinds of
plants is entirely doable and illustrative of switches that should
happen across the U.S., including much older plants with long-expired
licenses.  Entergy’s Indian Point nuclear reactors north of New York
City, for example, could be closed even sooner than Diablo Canyon and
replaced with a portfolio of renewables, efficiency, and storage.
Taking a cue from California, we should be replicating this
everywhere.

Second, this agreement indicates that California is outpacing other
states in how its utilities are redefining their future, as PG&E
didn’t stop with the Diablo Canyon closure. They committed to ramping
up their renewable energy portfolio over the next 15 years so that
renewables will comprise the majority of their total retail power, at
55%, voluntarily exceeding California’s standards for 2030.

That’s also a big deal and heralds a new tide of utility leadership.
PG&E sees the markets moving and wants to make the switch early.
Utilities across the U.S., many of which are notoriously conservative
in thinking and practice, are seeing the writing on the wall. And in
the coming years, we’ll only see more of this switching as the
economics are rapidly driving the conversion.

Third, this deal also locks in an equitable and just transition for
the communities that supported Diablo’s nuclear power in the past. It
contains economic stimulus provisions for the community of San Luis
Obispo and Diablo Canyon workforce, which is why labor and, most
importantly, the two biggest unions in Diablo are supporting this
deal.
There’s even an employee retention and severance program and a
community impacts mitigation program. And, remarkably, PG&E is putting
up money for all of this. The move has garnered the support of the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245 and the
Coalition of California Utility Employees, making it the model for the
future of America’s energy transition. It’s one of the best examples
of a blue-green alliance, with both labor and the environmental
community on board........http://www.fastcoexist.com/3061145/california-is-going-nuclear-free-which-means-everyone-else-can-too
Christina MacPherson | June 24, 2016 at 7:43 am | Categories: business
and costs, employment, USA | URL: http://wp.me/phgse-o9Q

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