Billionaire Elon Musk feels that nuclear power plants should be kept open unless they are susceptible to extreme natural disasters. The statement from the world’s richest man adds strength to the growing voices against the proposed plan to shut down the last nuclear power plant in California.
“Unless susceptible to extreme natural disasters, nuclear power plants should not be shut down,” the Tesla and SpaceX chief tweeted.
The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant generates about 8 per cent of California's in-state electricity and 15 per cent of its carbon-free power. The plant’s operator, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), had in 2016, decided to allow the licenses for two reactors at Diablo Canyon to expire in 2024 and 2025, which would close the last nuclear power plant in the most populous state in the United States.
Experts say keeping it open to 2045 could save up to $21 billion in power system costs and spare 90,000 acres of land from use for energy production.
Earlier this week, Elon Musk’s partner, singer Grimes, too had expressed a similar opinion in a video.
“California is an in energy and climate crisis. And closing Diablo Canyon will make us rely on fossil fuels. This will push us backwards instead of forwards it its goal to be 100 per cent reliant on clean energy. If we push the closure back by a decade, it will help the state decarbonise faster and make the transition to clean energy faster and cheaper,” Grimes had said.
“This is crisis mode and we should be using all the tools that we have. Especially the ones sitting right here in front of us.”
Last week, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told news agency Reuters that California could reconsider the closing the Diablo Canyon plant and that she was willing to eventually talk with state officials.
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