The following is a guest article by Dick Storm and Ronald Stein.
Most California politicians have opposed zero-emissions electricity generated by nuclear power since 1976, when they passed the moratorium on new nuclear power plants. Nuclear is the cleanest, safest, most proven, and lowest-emitting energy source, yet most California politicians oppose it. California once had multiple operating nuclear power plants, including San Onofre, Diablo Canyon, Rancho Seco, and a partial ownership stake in Palo Verde, located in Arizona. Now, only Diablo Canyon and Palo Verde remain in operation.
For many years, politicians enacted policies and laws that were anti-nuclear. The Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 created the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 budget request is $892.3 million, which includes funding for 2,606 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions.
Not too long ago, coal and nuclear together provided about 70% of America’s electricity generation. Since the enormous investments made through federal and state subsidies for electricity generation by wind turbines and solar panels, electricity prices across the country have more than doubled.
Fortunately, nuclear generation has survived worldwide despite its demonization by California celebrities and politicians.
The World Nuclear Association reports that about 80 nuclear reactors are currently under construction around the world, with approximately 120 more planned. Most reactors under construction or planned are located in Asia.
The list of countries with multiple nuclear reactors under construction is as follows:
- China – 37
- India – 8
- Russia – 5
- Egypt – 4
- Korea – 4
- Turkey – 4
- Bangladesh – 2
- Japan – 2
- Ukraine – 2
- United Kingdom – 2
In America, President Trump has incentivized the nuclear industry with up to $300 billion in loan authority, sponsored a slate of permitting reform legislation, and issued executive orders to modify the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and streamline reactor licensing approvals from a decade to 18 months.
California was once one of the largest producers of U.S. crude oil and petroleum products. Today, with oil production in California in terminal decline, the state imports between 60% and 70% of its crude oil from foreign countries to meet demand at its operating refineries.
It is shocking that the state imports most of its crude oil when California’s Pacific Outer Continental Shelf contains massive, mostly untapped and undeveloped heavy oil reserves that are among the largest in the world.
California’s estimated undiscovered technically recoverable resources (UTRR) range between 4 and 14.2 billion barrels of oil, depending on the region and the specific federal assessment. The lower estimate reflects long-term downgrades of onshore shale resources, while the upper estimate highlights the potential of the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
California’s economy runs on transportation. As the world’s fourth-largest economy, California depends on its remaining seven refineries to provide a reliable daily supply of approximately 48 million gallons of transportation fuels. These include jet fuel for 40 military airports and nine international airports, three grades of gasoline for its 30 million vehicles, and diesel fuel for the trucking and construction industries.
During the 1970s, there were dozens of refineries in California. Today, because of the demonization of fossil fuels and the enactment of harmful laws, rules, and restrictions, only seven operating refineries remain to provide the transportation fuels that keep the world’s fourth-largest economy running.
Now let’s move on to affordable electricity generation.
A popular misunderstanding is that intermittent solar and wind power are “free,” but increasing electricity costs are driven by at least three factors:
- Two electricity generation systems must be built. Because wind and solar are intermittent, two power generation systems are required: one powered by wind and solar energy, and a second backup system powered by coal, natural gas, nuclear, or another dispatchable energy source. The backup system is necessary to provide uninterrupted electricity when the sun sets and the wind does not blow.
- Natural gas fuel is volatile. Fuel for gas turbine backup generation is subject to price volatility and is often more expensive than coal or nuclear fuel.
- Transmission infrastructure is expensive. Wind and solar farms require vast amounts of land, often far from population centers. As a result, transmission lines and substations must be built to bring that electricity from remote generation sites to the homes and businesses that use it.
Of course, there are numerous and complex reasons unique to each area. However, the overall pattern is clear: the more solar and wind generation that is installed, the higher electricity costs tend to become. At this point, the experiences of other states and countries cannot be ignored.
Hawaii, which prematurely shut down its 180-megawatt coal plant about five years ago, now has the highest electricity rates in the United States. Hawaii is an energy island and cannot back up its installed wind and solar generation with gas turbines or imported electricity from neighboring utilities. Because there are no natural gas pipelines in Hawaii, the backup generation relies on diesel fuel.
Germany attempted to transition to wind and solar power, and its high electricity prices contributed to de-industrialization as energy-intensive industries struggled to compete in global markets.
Numerous other U.S. states have shut down coal plants with similar results to Germany and Hawaii: dramatic increases in electricity prices. These are simply facts reflected in published electricity rates and state energy profiles by fuel source.
Then came politically driven energy laws that forced coal plants to shut down.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) owned a large share of the well-designed, well-operated, clean, and affordable 1,900-megawatt Intermountain Power coal plant in Delta, Utah. Electricity generated in Delta flowed reliably for many years over dedicated high-voltage DC transmission lines to Los Angeles. The Intermountain Power coal plant ceased operating on coal in 2025. As recently as 2016, nearly one-fifth of LADWP’s electricity was generated from coal. Today, none of its electricity is generated from coal.
Escalating electricity costs are likely to push electricity-intensive industries toward continuous, uninterrupted, and emission-free sources of power. As a result, America is watching the world’s growing movement toward nuclear power generation.
