WEBCAST: Lawmaker says California needs more nuclear power

STOCKTON
April 6, 2007 12:01am

California’s long-standing moratorium against building or expanding nuclear power plants needs to be lifted, says state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine.

He says only nuclear power can replace electricity generated by coal-fired plants.

Mr. DeVore admits his bill to lift the moratorium will not see the light of day in the current session but believes a growing interest in nuclear power will keep it alive in future sessions.

(Listen to Mr. DeVore’s comments in a CVBT Audio Interview. Please click on the link below to listen or download to your iPod or PC.)

Opponents say there is no satisfactory solution of how to dispose of the nuclear wastes generated by the plants, that they would be targets for terrorists, and that their immense costs would push power prices higher.

Dan Hirsch, president of the Committee to Bridge the Gap, a California-based anti-nuclear watchdog group, says there is so little support for nuclear power that Mr. DeVore’s bill will never make it out of committee.

(Listen to Mr. Hirsch’s comments in a CVBT Audio Interview. Please click on the link below to listen or download to your iPod or PC.)

There are two operating nuclear plants in California – the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station co-owned by Southern California Edison Co. and San Diego Gas & Electric, and Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant owned by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Together, they supply about 16 percent of the state’s power needs.

A Central Valley group, Fresno Nuclear Energy Group LLC, is pushing to build a nuclear power plant in Fresno County if the moratorium is lifted.