{"id":1629657,"date":"2022-09-01T12:47:45","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T16:47:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1629657"},"modified":"2022-09-01T12:48:45","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T16:48:45","slug":"amid-a-self-inflicted-energy-crisis-california-gives-its-last-nuclear-power-plant-a-five-year-extension-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/amid-a-self-inflicted-energy-crisis-california-gives-its-last-nuclear-power-plant-a-five-year-extension-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Amid A Self-Inflicted Energy Crisis, California Gives Its Last Nuclear Power Plant A Five-Year Extension"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Famid-a-self-inflicted-energy-crisis-california-gives-its-last-nuclear-power-plant-a-five-year-extension-2%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1629657&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>California lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a five-year extension for the state\u2019s last operating nuclear plant at Diablo Canyon on Wednesday as residents face a power crunch from a premature transition to renewable energy. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB846\">Senate Bill 846<\/a> made it through on the last day of the assembly\u2019s legislative session, offering the plant a five-year lifeline beyond its initial decommission date set for 2025. Thirty-one senators <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ANS_org\/status\/1565256892649127936?s=20&amp;t=P8VGMsgQpx6QtTW98yWMMQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">voted<\/a> in favor compared to just one who voted against. <\/p>\n<p>The power plant at Diablo Canyon is not only California\u2019s last remaining source of nuclear energy, the facility is the state\u2019s largest producer of electricity. The plant <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.ca.gov\/data-reports\/energy-almanac\/california-electricity-data\/2021-total-system-electric-generation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">generates<\/a> nearly 9 percent of California\u2019s electricity and 17 percent of its carbon-free power, with the Golden State importing more than a third of its energy needs from neighboring states. <\/p>\n<p>Environmental author and advocate for the Diablo Canyon plant Michael Shellenberger took a victory lap in an early-morning Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShellenbergerMD\/status\/1565261451199033344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1565261451199033344%7Ctwgr%5E51945d71cfe37542a662301f8ef2b2211998f8db%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthefederalist.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D278597action%3Dedit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">post<\/a> on Thursday declaring the extension a \u201cvictory of pro-civilization values.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"541\" height=\"681\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-01-at-11.39.19-AM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-278605\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-01-at-11.39.19-AM.png 541w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-01-at-11.39.19-AM-238x300-1.png 238w\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>While the plant\u2019s two reactors will continue operations through 2030, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShellenbergerMD\/status\/1557519708756348929?s=20&amp;t=YFIGep_KV__5DPjcvVUueg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">original plans<\/a> for the site included six reactors that would have run simultaneously, with desalination processes to offer residents abundant water in the drought-stricken region. <\/p>\n<p>No plans were approved on Wednesday to expand facilities to include the desalination efforts, though researchers at Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concluded that such an expansion would dramatically increase the value of operations. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cUsing Diablo Canyon as a power source for desalination could substantially augment fresh<br \/>water supplies to the state as a whole and to critically overdrafted basins regions such as the<br \/>Central Valley,\u201d researchers <a href=\"https:\/\/energy.stanford.edu\/sites\/g\/files\/sbiybj9971\/f\/diablocanyonnuclearplant_report_11.19.21.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a>, adding that the volume of fresh water produced could rival that of major state projects \u201cbut at significantly lower investment cost.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The nuclear-desalination operations could also be used to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S1359431118317575\">generate<\/a> hydrogen as an emissions-free fuel, the only byproduct of which is water when consumed in a fuel cell to generate electricity. <\/p>\n<p><strong>[RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/08\/31\/how-to-turn-desalination-waste-from-burden-to-profit\/\">How To Turn Desalination Waste From Burden To Profit<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Moreover, while the Democrats\u2019 ill-named and inflation-increasing \u201cInflation Reduction Act\u201d heavily subsidizes renewable energy, the legislation also gives handsome subsidies for hydrogen, which can be produced from nuclear power for as little as\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/topics\/engineering\/hydrogen-production-cost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">half<\/a>\u00a0the cost of wind and solar.<\/p>\n<p>Democrat lawmakers, however, have shown little appetite to expand nuclear operations as Big Green interest groups such as the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) continue to oppose nuclear power and demand subsidies for weather-dependent solar panels and wind turbines. <\/p>\n<p>The rush to fundamentally transform the power grid, which is already under stress from drought since low water levels reduce the generation of hydroelectricity, has led California into a series of routine blackouts. On Tuesday, the state <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShellenbergerMD\/status\/1565026009497227264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1565026009497227264%7Ctwgr%5E2ef797c80efc98c5466629a7f1ae6da572ccc13a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthefederalist.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D278597action%3Dedit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pled with residents<\/a> not to charge electric vehicles seven days after the state banned the sale of gas-powered cars beginning in 2035. It remains unclear whether lawmakers will extend nuclear operations at Diablo Canyon for another five years. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-comments mt-30 mt-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-comments-container d-flex flex-column align-items-center py-30\">\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"110\" height=\"106\" src=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/fdrlst-mark.svg\" class=\"img-fluid mb-20\" alt=\"The Federalist logo eagle mark\" \/>    <\/p>\n<p>Unlock commenting by joining the Federalist Community.<\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/plans\/pricing\/\" class=\"btn btn-on-white\">Subscribe<\/a>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>California lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a five-year extension for the state\u2019s last operating nuclear plant at Diablo Canyon on Wednesday as residents face a power crunch from a premature transition to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":494,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1629657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1629657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/494"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1629657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1629657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1629657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1629657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1629657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}