Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant

Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant
Aerial view from the west (Pacific)
location
Coordinates	35 ° 12 '38 "  N , 120 ° 51' 14"  W Coordinates: 35 ° 12 '38 "  N , 120 ° 51' 14"  W.
Country:	United States
Data
Owner:	Pacific Gas and Electric .
Operator:	Pacific Gas and Electric.
Project start:	1966
Commercial operation:	May 7, 1985
Active reactors (gross):	2 (2,300 MW)
Energy fed in in 2011:	18,668 GWh
Energy fed in since commissioning:	432,950 GWh
Website:	PG&E Diablo Canyon
Was standing:	February 13, 2013
The data source of the respective entries can be found in the documentation .

The Diablo Canyon Power Plant ( Engl. Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant with two) Westinghouse - pressurized water reactors of 1100 MW class is located in San Luis Obispo County in the US state of California , on the Pacific coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco . Since the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant was closed in 2013, it is the last remaining operational nuclear power plant in California.

history

Aerial view from the east

Construction of the power plant began on April 23, 1968. The power plant is operated by Pacific Gas and Electric . Since the nuclear power plant gets its cooling water directly from the Pacific, it was not necessary to build cooling towers .

Block 1

Block 1 is a Westinghouse pressurized water reactor. The reactor has a nominal net electrical output of 1,122 megawatts and was commissioned on November 11, 1984. In 2011, the unit produced 9,917 GWh of electrical energy, which corresponds to an annual degree of utilization of 100.9%.

Block 2

Block 2 is also a Westinghouse pressurized water reactor. The reactor has a net electrical output of 1,118 megawatts and was commissioned on October 20, 1985. In 2011, the block produced 8,752 GWh of electrical energy, which corresponds to an annual efficiency of 89.4%.

Planned shutdown

Complete shutdown of the power plant (Unit 1 and Unit 2) is planned for 2025.

Public opposition and anti-nuclear movement

The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant went into operation despite legal challenges. Pacific Gas and Electric previously had to endure more than six years of hearings, referendums, and legal action before the facility was approved. The main point of criticism was the concern about the insufficient earthquake safety of the nuclear power plant. When construction began in 1968, earthquake resistance was considered sufficient, but by the time it was completed in 1973 an earthquake fissure had been discovered about three kilometers away in the sea. The company responded by improving the structural integrity of the facility. On August 7, 1977, there were the first protests in front of the nuclear power plant with around 1500 participants. In August 1978 there was a demonstration of around 5,000 opponents of nuclear power, of which 487 were arrested for entering the site. After the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant , Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in March 1979, protests intensified. In April 1979 around 25,000 participants demonstrated against Diablo Canyon in San Francisco. Finally, on June 30, 1979, a large rally with around 40,000 participants took place in San Luis Obispo to protest against the commissioning. In addition to well-known public figures such as the singers Jackson Browne , Graham Nash and Peter Yarrow and the journalist Daniel Ellsberg , the then Governor of California, Jerry Brown (back in office since 2011) also appeared. He took a very clear position against nuclear energy in general and against the commissioning of Diablo Canyon in particular. The protests were organized across California by the Abalone Alliance, which had an office in San Louis Obispo. On September 10, 1981, there was finally a non-violent attempt at occupation. Of the approximately 30,000 supporters, they were arrested in 1960.

Data of the reactor blocks

The Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant has two blocks :

Reactor block	Reactor type	net power	gross power	start of building	Network synchronization	Commercialization of essential operation	switching off processing
Diablo Canyon-1	Pressurized water reactor	1,122 MW	1,136 MW	04/23/1968	11/11/1984	05/07/1985	11/2024 planned
Diablo Canyon-2	Pressurized water reactor	1,118 MW	1,164 MW	December 9, 1970	October 20, 1985	03/13/1986	08/2025 planned

See also

• List of nuclear power plants
• San Onofre NPP (a former California power plant with similar earthquake problems)
• San Andreas Fault - a 1,100 km line where a major earthquake is likely
• Abalone Alliance - Protests against commissioning in the late 1970s

Web links

• On unsafe ground: power plants are located on the San-Andreas-Graben . 3 sat . Contribution to the Diablo Canyon NPP
• California: Waiting for "The Big One" .. In: Spiegel Online . Report and video about the Diablo Canyon NPP

Individual evidence

1. ^ US Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration: State Nuclear Profiles 2010 , April 26, 2010
2. ↑ ^{a b} Power Reactor Information System of the IAEA : "United States of America: Nuclear Power Reactors - Alphabetic" (English)
3. ↑ David Sneed: PG&E agrees to close Diablo Canyon in 2025. In: The San Luis Obispo Tribune. June 21, 2016, accessed June 25, 2020 . 
4. ↑ In The World of Nuclear Power Crisis . In: Life Magazine , May 1979, pp. 23-30. Archived from the original on May 12, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2010.  (English)
5. ↑ [1] from June 29, 2016, accessed: June 30, 2016
6. ↑ [2] of February 27, 2018, accessed: February 28, 2018