HomeMy WebLinkAbout6/5/2018 Item 19, Nelson (2)
From:Gene A. Nelson, Ph.D. <
To:CityClerk
Subject:RE: 06 05 18 City Council Agenda Meeting Agenda Item 19
Attachments:CGNP Comments on SLO City Agenda Item 19 - 06 05 18.pdf
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Attached find CGNP's comments regarding Agenda Item 19 which will be delivered in about 45 minutes in the SLO City
Council Chambers.
Gene Nelson, Ph.D. Government Liaison and Legal Assistant Californians for Green Nuclear Power, Inc. (CGNP)
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SLO City Council Citizen Comments on Agenda Item 19 05 June 2018
Hello, Madam Mayor and SLO City Council Members:
Good evening. My name is Dr. Gene Nelson. I live in San Luis Obispo. I
serve in a volunteer capacity as the Government Liaison and Legal
Assistant for an independent nonprofit, Californians for Green Nuclear
Power, Inc. (CGNP.) I've recently served as a professor of science and
engineering courses at Cal Poly SLO and Cuesta College. CGNP is an
adversarial intervenor in PG&E's controversial application to
prematurely and wastefully abandon Diablo Canyon in 2025.
I previously submitted a packet of information to each of you in which
CGNP advocates for the continued safe operation of Diablo Canyon
Power Plant beyond 2025. Diablo Canyon produces the equivalent of
five Hoover Dams annually - that is 10 percent of California's in-state
generation. The generation is accomplished safely. The plant reliably
produces power 24/7, Sun or no Sun, wind or calm, flood or drought.
Diablo Canyon's power is cost-effective, undercutting the cost of fossil
generation and is far less than the cost of either solar or wind when the
taxpayer-funded subsidies are removed.
Diablo Canyon stores the energy it needs in each of the reactor cores,
where it is slowly and safely released between refueling intervals that
stretch between 18 to 20 months. This attribute facilitates California
power grid resiliency, unlike natural gas which powers about 60% of
California's power. While the current administration is advocating for
grid resiliency to maintain our nation's economic strength, the Obama
administration provided early leadership in recognizing the importance
of grid resiliency.
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CGNP calls Diablo Canyon "California's clean energy champion" because
it accomplishes these amazing feats without emitting any carbon.
CGNP members learn about what is happening at the plant from their
friends who work there. The workers privately appreciate CGNP's
advocacy on behalf of the environment, the local economy, where
Diablo Canyon pumps about a billion dollars a year into the economy,
and their families. 1,500 local families have good head-of-household
jobs as the plant runs. Another 1,000 depend on the well-paid outage
jobs that further help our local economy. We just learned that
everyone in the Admin building is getting new furniture. A local firm has
a $1 million contract to replace all of the blinds in the building. CGNP
believes those are indica of the beneficial impact that our citizen group
is having as we drive thousands of miles in California advocating for the
plant since 2013. CGNP wants taxes to remain low and employment
high. We are asking for time for a detailed council briefing with our
experts. We are asking for the City of San Luis Obispo to back sound
science, engineering, and economics by supporting the continued safe
operation of Diablo Canyon. I invite your questions.