www.bloomberg.com
8 Mar 2012
Two nuclear power plants perched near earthquake faults in California could struggle to get relicensed after a cascade of natural and nuclear disasters across the Pacific Ocean in Japan galvanized opposition groups.
Fukushima-inspired concerns have rippled through Orange County, where the cities of Laguna Beach and San Clemente asked regulators to decide whether Edison International (EIX)'s San Onofre atomic plant 60 miles (97 km) southeast of Los Angeles could withstand an earthquake and tsunami before extending its permit to 2042 from 2022. Further north, PGE Corp. (PCG) asked for a delay in relicensing Diablo Canyon pending seismic studies.
"An accident would be devastating" at San Onofre, Laguna Beach Mayor Jane Egly said in an interview in her home overlooking the seaside enclave. "If they don't do anything to address our safety concerns, I would support shutting it down". Nuclear anxiety in the most populous state, a bellwether for political and environmental issues nationwide, is echoing in New York, Ohio, Virginia and Vermont, where local groups oppose operators' efforts to extend the lives of their plants. Eleven U.S, power companies including Edison, PGE, Entergy Corp. (ETR) and Progress Energy Inc. (PGN) seek 20-year license extensions to keep 15 atomic generators running through age 60.
At stake is whether reactors designed in the 1960s and 1970s, the same vintage as those overwhelmed by a 9.0-magnitude quake and 46-foot (14-meter) tsunami in Fukushima, Japan, should remain the foundation of a 104-reactor U.S, fleet through mid-century. The debate over atomic energy, which provides about 20% of the nation's power, extends even into new projects.
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