Should next-generation nuclear reactors be part of California’s energy future?
A provocative question, given that the Golden State officially forbids construction of new nuclear facilities until the federal government figures out what the heck to do with the radioactive waste we’re already stuck with (including 3.6 million pounds on a scenic bluff overlooking the blue Pacific at San Onofre).
Enter now a bill introduced by a Fresno Democrat, and co-authored by Assemblymember Diane Dixon, R-Newport Beach, suggesting this ban may be a relic of California’s flower power/peace sign/hippie counterculture past. Assembly Bill 305 would exempt small modular reactors from the ban, and is slated for a hearing Monday in the Assembly’s Natural Resources Committee.
Aerial view of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County (Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)The rest of the world never stopped moving forward, Dixon said. It’s time California moves with it.
“I’m no nuclear engineer, but the concept of adding to our renewable energy arsenal seems like a good one to help us toward the net zero carbon goal by 2045,” she said. “This is an excellent step forward to review and validate alternative energy sources, and small nuclear modular reactors have a lot of potential.”
To be clear, we’re not talking about more Diablo Canyons here.
Diablo’s two reactors generate about 18 million megawatts; this bill would exempt reactors producing a wee fraction of that — up to 300 megawatts — from California’s long-standing moratorium. It would also require the state Public Utilities Commission to adopt a plan to increase the procurement of electricity from nuclear, and to phase out natural gas, by Jan. 1, 2028.
“When we’re stymied and stalled, it’s time to look at other ideas,” Dixon said. “When I saw this bill, I said, ‘I’ll sign on.’ Somebody has to advance nuclear and start looking at this as a viable option in our menu of renewables. Nuclear is clean and cheap and doable in smaller reactors, and can be part of our net-zero carbon goal by 2045.”
While strong opposition to nuclear energy remains among many critics who say it’s unsafe — especially those close to the San Onofre and Diablo Canyon plants — the bill’s authors say they just want to drag California into the 21st century. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that a majority of Americans — 56% — favor more nuclear power plants to generate electricity. A Chapman University poll in 2020 found that 57% of Orange County residents were in favor of the same.
How to address the waste problem, which continues to vex us? Dixon doesn’t claim to have the answer to this, but perhaps the smaller amount of waste generated by these smaller reactors will be less objectionable, she said.
Screenshot of Deep Fission web siteAnd there is an extremely interesting twist on the waste dilemma in the works. Deep Fission — which calls itself “the pioneering nuclear energy startup revolutionizing the industry by placing reactors a mile underground” — has teamed up with Deep Isolation, a Berkeley company whose answer to the waste problem is a miles-deep, vertical borehole that curves horizontally at the bottom, to isolate nuclear waste even further.
This month, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on spent fuel management for Deep Fission’s advanced underground reactors.
That could sidestep official paralysis on the waste issue almost entirely.
(Courtesy Deep Isolation)“Under the MOU, Deep Isolation and Deep Fission will explore the potential licensing and use of Deep Isolation’s patented underground disposal technology for managing spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste from Deep Fission’s underground reactors,” an announcement from the companies said. “This partnership enables Deep Fission to offer an end-to-end solution that includes both energy generation and long-term waste management.”
The reactor company will integrate the disposal company’s deep borehole technology into its operations, providing “a seamless, long-term waste solution,” they said.
“Nuclear power generation requires a waste disposal solution, and responsible users should plan for waste management from the start,” said a prepared statement from Elizabeth Muller, CEO of Deep Fission. “Deep geological disposal is the globally preferred approach, and while other countries are advancing underground repositories, there is an opportunity for the U.S. to take further steps in this direction. Deep Isolation’s solution presents an attractive option for Deep Fission as we work toward a sustainable nuclear future.”
AB 305 is not the first bill to propose exempting small-scale reactors from California’s ban, and it may not be the last. But Americans in both parties now see nuclear power more positively than they did earlier this decade, Pew’s survey said, and its day may well be coming. Again.
(Courtesty Deep Isolation) (Courtesty Deep Isolation) (Courtesty Deep Isolation) Deep Isolation Test Facility (Photo by Noah Berger) Deep Isolation Test Facility (Photo by Noah Berger) Deep Isolation’s Universal Canister System, where the spent fuel rods are stored. Spent nuclear fuel is made of small pellets, which are held in long tubes called fuel rods, and the rods are arranged into bundles called fuel assemblies. Those assemblies are then placed into the Deep Isolation canister. (Deep Isolation) Deep Isolation’s Universal Canister System, where the spent fuel rods are stored. Spent nuclear fuel is made of small pellets, which are held in long tubes called fuel rods, and the rods are arranged into bundles called fuel assemblies. Those assemblies are then placed into the Deep Isolation canister. (Deep Isolation) Show Caption1 of 7(Courtesty Deep Isolation) Expand Read More Details
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