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An aerial photo of Diablo Canyon Power Plant from a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. update on post-shutdown activities focuses on the seawater intake and breakwater the company planned to demolish as part of the decommissioning process but which now will be retained for barge transportation of debris and waste.
Brandy Lopez, decommissioning and licensing supervisor for Pacific Gas and Electric Co., discusses the utility's post-shutdown activities plan and changes that will save money and reduce impacts during a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting in San Luis Obispo in this screenshot from SLO-Span's livestream of the meeting last week.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. plans to repurpose the Diablo Canyon Power Plant seawater cooling intake and breakwater for using barges to remove waste and debris, which will save money and reduce environmental impacts, protecting endangered black abalone living on the breakwater.
An aerial photo of Diablo Canyon Power Plant from a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. update on post-shutdown activities focuses on the seawater intake and breakwater the company planned to demolish as part of the decommissioning process but which now will be retained for barge transportation of debris and waste.
Brandy Lopez, decommissioning and licensing supervisor for Pacific Gas and Electric Co., discusses the utility's post-shutdown activities plan and changes that will save money and reduce impacts during a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting in San Luis Obispo in this screenshot from SLO-Span's livestream of the meeting last week.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. plans to repurpose the Diablo Canyon Power Plant seawater cooling intake and breakwater for using barges to remove waste and debris, which will save money and reduce environmental impacts, protecting endangered black abalone living on the breakwater.
Changes to post-shutdown activities at Diablo Canyon Power Plant are expected to save Pacific Gas and Electric Co. money, reduce environmental impacts and shorten the timeline to complete decommissioning, a utility spokeswoman said.
The update on the changes to the plan and the decommissioning timeline were presented at a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Agency meeting to discuss those activities held last week in San Luis Obispo.
Although Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing to have PG&E apply for federal funds earmarked to keep nuclear plants operating when they are at risk of closing, PG&E has not yet applied for those funds and is forging ahead on shutting down the twin Diablo units in 2024 and ’25.
Newsom wants to keep the plant in operation to help the state transition to 100% renewable energy.
“I wanted to emphasize PG&E continues to plan for decommissioning independent of current state policy discussions around continued operation,” said Brandy Lopez, decommissioning and licensing supervisor for PG&E.
The length of the timeline might be surprising to some, although NRC regulations require decommissioning to be completed in 60 years.
Lopez said post-shutdown activities have been broken into seven divisions, the first consisting of detailed planning, engineering, licensing and permitting efforts that started in 2010 and are expected to be complete by October 2024, although she noted it’s an ongoing and evolving process.
That will be followed by power block modifications through April 2027, then spent fuel rods will cool in the spent fuel pools through June 2032 while plans are made for decontamination and dismantling of radiological systems and structures, as well as nonradiological structures, which will take place until April 2035.
Site restoration, as well as continued demolition of nonradiological structures, will start in May 2035 and continue until December 2038, when spent fuel will be held in the independent spent fuel storage installation until August 2067.
Installation structures will be removed, while final radiological surveys, restoration of affected areas and biological monitoring will continue to January 2076.
Lopez said changes to the plan include shortening the time spent fuel will stay in the cooling pools and delaying the implementation of “cold and dark” modifications until the last spent nuclear fuel is shipped out.
The company has shifted plans for shipping out waste and debris using the rails to using barges as well as trucks, Lopez said, which will reduce risk and environmental impacts.
PG&E initially planned to dismantle the seawater intake and the breakwater protecting it, but the company now plans to use the intake for directly loading waste and debris for removal by barge.
The change will also protect endangered black abalone that make their home on the breakwater, Lopez said.
PG&E also plans to use the existing 230 kilovolt power lines and switchyard rather than bringing in new 12-kilovolt lines, and instead of improving and using the Pismo Beach Railyard for shipping out waste, it will become a contingency facility for nonhazardous and nonradiological wastes.
In addition to reducing costs and environmental impacts on endangered and threatened species, the changes will reduce emissions and the volume of waste, Lopez said.
The changes also will significantly reduce costs and result in terminating the production licenses, she said.
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