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Why California Is Reconsidering Its Decision to Shun Nuclear Power (www.nytimes.com)
submitted 23 hours ago by to c/news@lemmy.world
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The Diablo Canyon Power Plant, which sits on a cliff on California’s Central Coast, has been the subject of ceaseless protests and political battles since it was proposed in 1963.

Now, the plant is at the center of yet another major debate. After shuttering all the state’s other nuclear power plants in recent decades, California is considering extending Diablo’s life and lifting a moratorium on new reactors.

That these decisions are even on the table in California is a testament to the substantial change in public views of nuclear energy, which for decades has been reviled by the liberal lawmakers and environmental groups that wield tremendous power and influence in the state.

Many of its leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have expressed support for nuclear energy. The California Legislature last month passed a bill to commission a study on partly lifting the ban on new reactors.

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[–] 1 point 4 hours ago

I will add context to your factual statement with the existence of regulations requiring safety systems to deal with what is called a Double Ended Guillotine break in the primary coolant line. In over 70 years, with reactors in 35 countries, there has never been a Double Ended Guillotine break in the primary coolant line, because it's physically impossible. Pipes don't break like that, they just can't break like that.

The actual (still extremely rare) failure condition is called Leak Before Break.

The safety systems required to prevent the imaginary Double Ended Guillotine break cost millions of dollars per unit and actually make it harder to implement safety systems for Leak Before Break.

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