Diabolo Canyon is California’s last remaining nuclear power plant. The really really fun one was San Onofre…just this little lighthouse-size thing right next to the freeway, ready to slide off it’s rock into the ocean like some lovecraftian squid godzilla. (I ask you, what could

possibly go wrong?

) That one was shut down in 2013. Diabolo Canyon supplies about 9% of California’s electricity…which is a lot. But the benefits of having it is somewhat outweighed by the fact that it’s sitting on the San Andreas Fault Rift Zone, and the ocean, and right next to millions of people. Suffice to say, the

Fukushima Reactor Meltdown

in 2011 put the fear of God into California’s Pacific Gas and Electric Company. PG&E immediately put the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on notice that they didn’t want to renew their license until they could do more earthquake studies. The plant was built in 1968 too, and it needed new reactors, which in todays money would simply cost too much. (trillions? what’s a reasonable estimate of a full nuclear power plant refit for a plant that’s had known bad refits and structural problems from the beginning?) No one just goes out and starts building nuclear power plants like they used to in the 60’s. (60’s be like, ‘hey ho hey ho, safety codes have got to go’) Diabolo Canyon was the center of a big

anti-nuclear power protest

too back in the 80’s, by the Abalone Alliance, which I assume was a group of invertebrates who produce sticky glue from their enormous feet and taste delicious when pounded with a hammer and fried. 1900 people were arrested for making a public spectacle of themselves. But

the worm has turned

, and now there are protesters out protesting the

shutdown

of the plant. Last year, a group of more sedate activists petitioned the governor to halt the plant closure. They wrote everyone

a nice letter

and no one was arrested. (I don’t know why they asked the governor, PG&E is like this separate mafia state within California running around at night, reading your meters, trimming your trees.)



Activists or no, PG&E looked down the barrel of the potential liability and expense of operating the plant and decided on

unilateral disarmament.

So in February PG&E pulled their license renewal from the NRC. They’re spinning the thing down, and should have it totally decommissioned by 2024 when the current license expires. Imagine it takes that long to shut the reactors off! Truly an awe inspiring idea that there’s all this crazy nuclear power that takes years to shut down safely! I’m completely unqualified to comment on these decisions other than relating what happened (as are, I'll wager, most of the activists), but boy, nuclear power is an awesome thing.