Southern California Nuke Plant To Permanently Close

San Onofre nuclear power plant,
with Interstate 5 in the middleground
(photo: eastcountymagazine.org)

A long time ago, I drove from Los Angeles to San Diego along Interstate 5. The busy intercity route parallels the Pacific Ocean for a considerable stretch. Along the way, some ominous structures broke the view between the busy highway and the nearby sea. I later discovered they were the San Onofre nuclear power plant.

It seemed a matter of poor judgment that atomic materials were located in a known earthquake zone such as southern California's coastal region. Yet, nuclear power's advocates have rarely shied away from locating the tangible results of their Faustian bargains in seismically active areas. When things go wrong, as they did in Fukushima last year, the catastrophe becomes bad news that only gets worse.

Even though I live at the opposite end of the continent from SoCal, I felt a sense of relief when today's Financial Times reported San Onofre will be "retired." In other words, this Frankenstein of an electrical generation plant will be closed once and for all. The good news? The plant has been shuttered since January 2012. Apparently, other means of creating and delivering energy to the region have, thankfully, been found.