California Nuclear Profile 2010 California profile
| Primary energy source | Summer capacity (mw) |
Share of State total (percent) |
Net generation (thousand mwh) |
Share of State total (percent) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nuclear | 4,390 | 6.5 | 32,201 | 15.8 |
| Coal | 374 | 0.6 | 2,100 | 1.0 |
| Hydro and Pumped Storage | 13,954 | 20.7 | 33,260 | 16.3 |
| Natural Gas | 41,370 | 61.4 | 107,522 | 52.7 |
| Other 1 | 220 | 0.3 | 2,534 | 1.2 |
| Other Renewable1 | 6,319 | 9.4 | 25,450 | 12.5 |
| Petroleum | 701 | 1.0 | 1,059 | 0.5 |
| Total | 63,328 | 100.0 | 204,126 | 100.0 |
| 1Municipal Solid Waste net generation is allocated according to the biogenic and non-biogenic components of the fuel; however, all Municipal Solid Waste summer capacity is classified as Renewable. Notes: Totals may not equal sum of components due to independent rounding. Other: Blast furnace gas, propane gas, other manufactured and waste gases derived from fossil fuels, non-biogenic municipal solid waste, batteries, chemicals, hydrogen, pitch, purchased steam, sulfur, tire-derived fuel, and miscellaneous technologies. Other Renewable: Wood, black liquor, other wood waste, biogenic municipal solid waste, landfill gas, sludge waste, agriculture byproducts, other biomass, geothermal, solar thermal, photovoltaic energy, and wind. Sources: Form EIA-860, "Annual Electric Generator Report," and Form EIA-923, "Power Plant Operations Report." |
||||
Plants in State
Operator: Pacific Gas & Electric Company
Location and Service Territory: The Diablo Canyon plant is on a 750-acre site in San Luis Obispo County, California.
Construction Cost: $11.556 billion (2007 USD)2
Staffing: 1,200 employees
Reactor Descriptions: Both units at Diablo Canyon are Westinghouse four-loop pressurized water reactors.
Cooling System: Diablo Canyon is cooled using a once-through system that draws water from the Pacific Ocean.
Operator: Southern California Edison Company
Location and Service Territory: This 84-acre site is near San Clemente, California, in San Diego County.
Construction Cost: Units 2 and 3 cost $8.968 billion (2007 USD)2
Staffing: San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, better known to locals by its acronym (SONGS), has more than 2,000 employees.
Reactor Descriptions: San Onofre houses two Combustion Engineering pressurized water reactors. Each reactor has two steam generating loops.
Cooling System: San Onofre relies on a unique cooling system that uses a 3,000-foot pipe to draw water from the Pacific Ocean. A ‘velocity cap’ diverts fish from the intake. Water is dispersed from 1,500-foot pipes through hundreds of openings, thereby helping maintain a temperature that varies by only a couple of degrees from that of the ocean.
2Nuclear Power Plant Construction Activity, DOE/EIA-0473(86), Energy Information Administration, 1986, pp 16-17, Table 5. Adjusted to 2007 Dollars using Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index.