Protesting California's Ongoing Nuclear to Coal Transition - Part 1

CGNP protests PacifiCorp's environmental hypocrisy to their CEO

            Yes, you read the headline correctly. Just as in Germany, for several decades, environmentally-conscious California has been shutting down safe,  nonpolluting nuclear power reactors and replacing them with coal-fired power which results in large quantities of air and water pollution being emitted.

            How is the nuclear to coal transition policy accomplished? Just as in the case of tobacco companies lobbying the federal government, there has been aggressive PacifiCorp lobbying of California decision-makers.

Photo credit: CGNP   This is likely the largest quarterly lobbying expenditure in California history.

            While $24.9 million is a large sum to expend for California lobbying, it is mere pocket-change to PacifiCorp's owner Berkshire Hathaway. Multi-billionaire Warren Buffett, who is mentioned later in this article,  is Berkshire Hathaway's CEO. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Berkshire Hathaway's cash on hand was about $250 billion. This cash hoard is a powerful tool for obtaining Berkshire Hathaway's corporate objectives. A subsequent chapter will be documenting key details of PacifiCorp's lobbying, including their opaque lobbying disclosures.

            In this first installment, Californians for Green Nuclear Power (CGNP) is sharing the text of their recent open letter to PacifiCorp CEO Cindy Crane. PacifiCorp has been leading the current phase of California's nuclear to coal transition. A future installment will disclose the very large wholesale transactions to southern California investor-owned utilities, among other California power suppliers.  As of today, there has been no PacifiCorp reply email.

(Email addresses have been altered to make them less likely to be detected by spambots.)

Cindy Crane, CEO

PacifiCorp

825 NE Multnomah Street, Suite 1900

Portland, OR 97232

(503) 813-6859

cindy dot crane [at] PacifiCorp dot com email

October 12, 2024

Dear Cindy:

            Independent nonprofit intervenor Californians for Green Nuclear Power (CGNP) is contacting you to learn how PacifiCorp resolves the tension between being one of the largest suppliers of mostly coal-fired power to California and your firm's stated goals on the PacifiCorp home page of "Protecting and preserving our rivers & lands

From the windy hills to our waterways, our land is not only a source of clean, renewable energy, it's also paramount to sustaining healthy, thriving communities. That’s why we’re committed to serving as good stewards of our environment."

            In November, 2014, in conjunction with the California Independent System Operator (CAISO,) PacifiCorp created the Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM)  As of the end of the second quarter of 2024, the gross benefits to PacifiCorp stand at $846.84 million https://www.westerneim.com/Pages/About/QuarterlyBenefits.aspx - almost a billion dollars. CGNP possesses information consistent with PacifiCorp supplying a significant part of the replacement electric power to southern California since zero-emissions San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) went offline at the end of January, 2012. In 2011, SONGS supplied about 18 TWh to southern California, where a TWh is a billion kilowatt-hours. Furthermore, CGNP can show coal remains the dominant energy input with natural gas in second place for PacifiCorp's power via PacifiCorp's 2020 ESG disclosures and Berkshire Hathaway's  recent SEC filings. 

            Since 2016, PacifiCorp has been aggressively lobbying at both the California state level and the federal level via the Western Interstate Energy Board (WIEB) in support of CAISO grid regionalization.  CAISO grid regionalization would facilitate PacifiCorp's ability to overturn in federal court  California environmental legislation such as SB 846 (Dodd, 2022) which favors in-state generators such as Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP.) (If SB 846 rules would have applied in 2021-2023, ratepayers would have received $1.313 billion in rebates connected with DCPP operation.) This conclusion  follows the legal reasoning in the important 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision  Hughes v. Talen Energy   and a pair of 2016 FERC decisions opposing zero emission credits for two Ohio nuclear power plants 155 FERC ¶ 61,101 and 155 FERC ¶ 61,102.

            Contrast the above information with you being one of those pictured at the recent groundbreaking of the Terrapower 345 MWe Natrium reactor in Kemmerer, Wyoming in the following June 10, 2024 GatesNotes  article.

            If PacifiCorp's well-funded lobbying campaign for CAISO grid regionalization is successful, PacifiCorp will likely be able to shut down the 2,256 MWe DCPP and replace it with PacifiCorp's mostly coal-fired generation. See the attached CGNP Capitol Weekly April 5, 2022 OpEd for further details.  This will negate the environmental benefits  -  by a large margin - of the substantial  federal and private investments connected with the Natrium reactor.

            CGNP looks forward to communications with you.

Sincerely,  Gene Nelson's CGNP signature block - Gene's email is government [at] CGNP dot org.

The entire article below was included in CGNP's emailed letter to PacifiCorp.

POWER UP

We just broke ground on America’s first next-gen nuclear facility

Kemmerer, Wyoming will soon be home to the most advanced nuclear facility in the world.

By Bill Gates

https://www.gatesnotes.com/Wyoming-TerraPower-groundbreaking

June 10, 2024   

This article includes a photo of PacifiCorp CEO Cindy Crane as part of a group breaking ground for the Natrium reactor with Bill Gates and others  in Kemmerer, Wyoming.

            My comments below passed the GatesNotes automated content moderation:

Gene Nelson, Ph.D.  10 12 24

Bravo for your work to achieve this milestone regarding American nuclear power. The first coal to nuclear project with PacifiCorp and Berkshire Hathaway Energy! I understand that you are Warren Buffett's bridge partner. Perhaps you could tell Warren at your next meeting that PacifiCorp's apparent plan to replace the 2,256 MW Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant with PacifiCorp's mostly coal-fired power will more than negate your hard work and investments with Terrapower.

Gene Nelson, Ph.D. 10 12 24

For details, please see the articles at CGNP's GreenNUKE Substack. .

- Gene Nelson, Ph.D.

As of today, there has been no response posted by Bill Gates or other GatesNotes readers.

          CGNP's two-page April 5, 2022 Capitol Weekly OpEd, " Closing Diablo Canyon spurs fears over replacement power" HTTPS://TINYURL.COM/DCPP-VERSUS-COAL  which is sharply critical of PacifiCorp's leadership of the California nuclear to coal transition concluded the letter.

            Since 2017, CGNP has been persistently critical of PacifiCorp's environmental hypocrisy in our local, state, and federal filings. PacifiCorp would like for CGNP and its allies to halt their criticism. In December, 2023, one of PacifiCorp's likely lobbying objectives was to deprive CGNP of their rightful intervenor compensation in a CPUC Proceeding A.16-08-006 as an advocate for ratepayers and the environment. While CGNP failed to receive a penny of their over $153,000.00 intervenor compensation request to recover their expenses, DCPP opponents were lavishly compensated. For details, see "How Did the CPUC Decide to Deny CGNP Intervenor Compensation? - Lavish Opposition Lobbying Likely Culprit." May 2, 2024  

https://greennuke.substack.com/p/how-did-the-cpuc-decide-to-deny-cgnp

            You can assist in the fight to keep DCPP open by becoming a paid GreenNUKE subscriber. (Substack is paid a commission for subscriptions.)  For maximum benefit, checks may be directly mailed to CGNP at 1375 East Grand Ave Ste 103 #523, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420-2421 Contact me at my email shown at the end of CGNP's above letter to PacifiCorp CEO Cindy Crane to obtain CGNP's ACH information.