Energy Knot: Environmental Lobbying to Shut Down One Nuclear Power Plant at a Time

A repost of a blog first published on September 30, 2014, the minority on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Environmental Lobbying to Shut Down One Nuclear Power Plant at a Time

September 30, 2014

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), top Republican on the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, has launched the second phase of his investigation into the collusion between environmental activists, lawyers and lobbyists, billionaires and their supporting foundations who use large sums of money to influence environmental public policy.
From farmers to miners to rig workers to manufacturers and fishermen, EPW Republicans have been examining how the jobs in those industries and their way of life are being targeted by well-funded environmental activists whose primary goal is maximizing government control, particularly over the land, water, and resources utilized by private industries and individuals. Today focuses on nuclear facilities and energy production.
Economic Contribution of Nuclear Energy

With high output capability and low variable operating costs,[1] nuclear energy is an indispensable contributor to our base-load electricity needs and will continue to be for years to come. The industry provides over 100,000 jobs[2] and 19% of the country's electricity[3] with over 100 nuclear reactors in the United States.[4] Nuclear energy emits no carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, or nitrogen oxide.[5] Nuclear energy facilities typically employ up to 3,500 people during construction and 400 to 700 people during operation, at salaries 36 percent higher than average in the plant's supply region.[6]

Despite the obvious benefits of nuclear energy, the trend in the industry is unfortunately bleak. While U.S. electricity demand is expected to rise 28 percent by 2040:[7] a new nuclear reactor has not opened for commercial operations since 1996,[8] and four reactors were shut down in 2013.[9]

Coordinated Lobbying Strategy

Far-left environmentalists and their allies in the U.S. Senate and the Obama Administration apparently fail to recognize the benefits of the nuclear energy industry. In fact, evidence suggests that there is a coordinated campaign, financed in part by the Billionaire's Club, which seeks to undermine the economic viability of the industry. These efforts have leveraged tremendous political pressure to influence the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and their decisions and have made it difficult to advance nuclear power.
At the forefront of this effort are Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), and their allies, including Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth (FOE) and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). Each has advocated for the immediate shut down and decommissioning of nuclear facilities.[10]

"We aim to stop proposed new nuclear plants and license extensions of old plants."[11] - Sierra Club, Nuclear Free Campaign

In recent years, Sierra Club/Sierra Club Foundation received millions of dollars, in total, from Billionaire's Club Foundations that include Energy Foundation, Rockefeller Family Fund, SeaChange Foundation, Wallace Global Fund, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Schmidt Family Foundation, and Tides foundation.[12] In recent years FOE has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Tides Foundation, Energy Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Park Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Marisla Foundation.^{^[13]} Likewise, UCS has received generous funding from David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Energy Foundation, Park Foundation, Wallace Global Fund, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Rockefeller Family Fund, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, ClimateWorks Foundation, Marisla Foundation, and Tides Foundation.^{^[14]}

By attacking the industry at every turn, this coordinated campaign succeeded in obtaining the closure of the San Onofre Nuclear General Station (SONGS). Senator Boxer and her allies aggressively sought to shut down the facility by targeting a technical issue with one of the SONGS new steam generators - in spite of the fact that the concern had not caused any injuries.[15] The NRC conducted an investigation into the integrity of the facility, and SONGS-owner and operator Southern California Edison (SCE) took corrective actions. Then SCE requested permission from the NRC to restart the plants.

Before NRC could issue a ruling, Senator Boxer and her allies intervened and pressed the Commission to reject the request. At the same time, FOE filed an intervention petition, hearing request, and application to delay the restarting of SONGS. NRC agreed to Senator Boxer's demand and delayed the restart of the plant.[16] Having secured additional time to delay restarting the facility, Senator Boxer alleged[17] that SCE knew of the steam generator defects and had knowingly withheld information during the NRC's investigation. This allegation was the justification for her expansive document request from the NRC, which resulted in her receiving 70,000 documents, none of which have justified her claims.

After the two years of the coordinated attack to stall the restarting of SONGS, SCE decided to permanently shut down the facility

What's Next?

Having shut down SONGS, Senator Boxer and her allies have turned their attention to the sole remaining nuclear plant in California - Diablo Canyon.[18] Following the devastating Fukushima earthquake and tsunami in 2011, Diablo Canyon "voluntarily suspended its license renewal application while it completed advanced seismic studies of earthquake faults in the region."[19] Reports show that the facility is capable of withstanding earthquakes from fault lines posing the greatest threat.[20] Even so, Senator Boxer is pressing the NRC to shut down the facility based on unsubstantiated claims[21] regarding the structural integrity of the plant. Her actions jeopardize over 1,500 jobs, over 9% of California's electricity generation, and over $1 billion into the California economy annually.[22]
Real-Life Consequences
The negative effects of a nuclear plant closure extend to more than just a diminished power supply. Economic hardship, job loss, and negative environmental impacts are the result of this coordinated attack on the industry. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, shutting down SONGS alone "changed the California electricity market," leading to less energy independence.[23] It also resulted in "an extra 18 million tons of CO2 per year delivered to the atmosphere"[24] and cost the state 1,500 local jobs and $50 million in lost revenue annually.[25]
EPW Republicans will continue detailing exactly how these coordinated efforts are destroying jobs and punishing industries and families across America. Previous editions include:

-30-

Energy Knot

Thursday, 16 April 2015

Environmental Lobbying to Shut Down One Nuclear Power Plant at a Time

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