Californian emissions have been found to be 250% higher due to the closing of several nuclear power plants across the state according to the Environmental Progress data. Many of the nuclear plants in California which were set to run for decades longer were closed prematurely due to the new California Renewable Portfolio Standard which does include nuclear power in its plans. According to recent studies, had the plants been kept open, California would have a 73% of its energy provided from clean sustainable energy sources instead of the 34% that it claims today. 48% of that energy would have come from nuclear power plants as opposed to only 9% that they contribute now. Because of the lower cost of natural gas plants, California put out 30.5 million metric tons of emissions more than if the plan would have pursued the use of nuclear energy.
This article illustrates how clean and reliable nuclear energy is and how it is the best form of energy for the future of California. However, the stigma and health concerns of people about nuclear power have caused plants across California to close in favor for natural gas plants, whose emissions are far more harmful to the environment. I think that California should have kept utilizing nuclear power as a primary source of energy as our emissions would be miniscule as compared to what we are putting out today, and the environment would greatly benefit. I see nuclear power as the future of California’s energy production, but it seems that nuclear energy will be in the past for California.
Source:
Deng, M. (2017, February 28). California Nuclear Closures Resulted in 250% Higher Emissions from Electricity. Retrieved from
Excellent article find Matthias. Fits right in with Ross and Edgar’s talk. We replace nuclear with less efficient alternatives and in the process increased our emissions???? You clearly are informed in the area of energy- I hope you feel like you learned a lot from following the topic, and see hope too.
Thank you!