Nuclear Power Now

With the economy in shreds, we need a solution to the energy problems now, not in ten or twenty years. The ability to adequately sequester carbon dioxide without ruining life in the sea has not been invented, no one is jumping on the hydrogen bandwagon in a big way, and making electricity to power cars, by power plants run by coal or natural gas does nothing to alleviate the growing tonnage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Nuclear energy is well developed, we do it now. We have gotten past the problems of Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and ‘The China Syndrome’. The San Onofre reactor, less than 70 miles from where I live, has been in service, without incident for years.

children play along the San Onofre beaches

and

The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) is jointly owned by Southern California Edison (SCE) (78.21%), San Diego Gas & Electric (20%), and the city of Riverside (1.79%). Today, SONGS generates approximately 2,200 megawatts of power, enough to serve 1.5 million average Southern California homes at a point in time.

SCE and its partners in SONGS are committed to safe, reliable operation of the San Onofre plant in compliance with all applicable federal, state and local standards and regulations. In addition, SCE is proud of its continuous environmental protection activities at SONGS and support of the Orange and San Diego county communities of which SONGS is a part.

We present these Web pages to demonstrate those values and provide important information about SONGS’ operations.

Some wonder how much electricity is actually made by a plant, and how much the risks are worth. -

Q. How long did SONGS 1 operate and how much electricity did it generate?
A. The unit operated from Jan. 1, 1968 to Nov. 30, 1992. It ceased operations under an agreement between the utility owners (Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric) and the Division of Ratepayer Advocates of the California Public Utilities Commission.

It produced about 53.35 billion kilowatt-hours (enough to energize 1 million households for 9 years). Its generating capacity was 450 megawatts (enough to energize about 500,000 homes at a time). For comparison, SONGS 2 and 3 generate 1,100 megawatts each.

Q: What type of fuel is used in a nuclear power plant and how does it compare to other fuels for creating electricity?

A: Generating power efficiently and cleanly for a growing population and economy in Southern California continues to be a challenge. While conservation of power by consumers, low-cost power purchases from outside the region, and use of developing alternate and renewable resources all help meet energy needs, they are only part of the answer.

The energy produced from nuclear power at SONGS saves the equivalent of 20-25 million barrels of oil each year for other important uses such as manufacturing and transportation. In this way, the plant helps conserve diminishing supplies of coal, oil and natural gas.

Nuclear energy continues to play an important role in providing low-cost, clean energy without dependence on fossil fuels.

One low-cost pellet of uranium 235 — weighing a few ounces — produces the same amount of energy as 140 gallons of oil, 150 gallons of gasoline, 2,000 pounds of coal or 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas.

from the SCE San Onofre  website

Reactor 1 is shut down, as it was an early design. Reactors 2 and 3 are still online, and will remain online until at least 2022, if the social climate changes, they will be renewed, to run another few decades. The amount of power generated is staggering, when considering that the power generated puts not one molecule of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Sure, there are some risks involved with nuclear power. There are risks with any type of power generation. While no one is arguing for going 100% nuclear, it is a way to begin to get off the oil addiction, and clear the smog, right now. The advances in plant design since the San Onofre plant was put online are many. The new designs are more compact, easily renewed because of compartmentalization, and can be made in mixed fashion, or breeder reactors. Fuel is spent renewing other fuel, no longer viable, and made viable again. It is no fantasy, the French are doing it now, and they have the cheapest electrical power in all of Europe. Show me a person who doesn’t like cheap electricity!

There are many places in the nation where photovoltaic or wind will produce large amounts of power, but nothing like that produced by nuclear. It is a solution for those places where inclement weather and lack of breezes make the other preferred methods of production impractical.

With nuclear technology, joining photovoltaic and wind production, this nation can once again lead the world, making jobs at home, energy at home, and ensuring our national security.

When OPEC hikes the prices, or lowers production, America will be able to tell the OPEC ministers how sad it is for them  that we no longer want to play that game.

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