Pro-Nuclear March In San Francisco To Protest Closing Of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant

The March for Environmental Hope and Mothers for Nuclear was mentioned by James Conca, Forbes Contributor, in this June 21, 2016 article:

Now that many environmentalists and climate scientists have realized that nuclear energy is essential for addressing global warming, a coalition of environmental groups is sponsoring a multi-day March for Environmental Hope in California in support of nuclear power.

Starting on June 24th in San Francisco, people will march from San Francisco to Sacramento to protest the potential closing of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant which, together with the recent closing of the San Onofre nuclear plant in southern California, would completely wipe out all progress in clean energy made by the state with wind and solar power.

In 2015, all wind energy in California only produced 12 billion kWhs. The two Diablo Canyon nuclear reactors produce 17 billion kWhs every year, and will for the next 20 years if not prematurely closed for political reasons.

Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County, California is at risk of premature... [+]

The March will occur in the run-up to a Tuesday, June 28th, California Lands Commission meeting, where Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom and two other members threatened to deny a critical permit to Diablo Canyon, California’s biggest source of clean energy.

In response to that political pressure, plant owner, PG&E , just announced that they will close the plant in 2025, saying they will replace it with renewables, although it’s hard to see how they could do that in such a short time. Most likely, they will try to buy renewable power from out-of-state, or ramp up natural gas.

The real adverse impact will be to the local community. Diablo Canyon employs nearly 1,500 workers and has a $920 million annual impact on the local economy. It is San Luis Obispo County’s largest private industry employer, with an average annual salary of $136,561 in 2011, according to a 2013 Cal Poly study.