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Political response to the crucial
California Energy Commission vote to deny the Sundesert plant a permit was considerable from both parties. The body had been created in 1974, and all five members had been appointed by Governor Brown. There were calls to abolish the commission in the wake of the
259:, voters for the first time in United States history emphatically rejected a nuclear power plant, the proposed four-reactor San Joaquin Nuclear Project, by a 70% to 30% margin. If approved and constructed, it would have been the largest nuclear power facility in the world.
141:
and denied a permit by a state agency, plans for the construction of the power facility were rejected in 1978 after 100 million dollars had been spent towards its construction. The
Sundesert proposal was the last major attempt to build a nuclear plant in California.
179:, this successful fight by the activists, the first in the history of nuclear power, led directly to the eventual growth of California’s anti-nuclear movement. A second battle by state environmentalists stopped a nuclear facility proposed for
244:, and the site had been cleared for general and earthquake safety by both state and federal regulators. The cost of the twin reactor plant was to be 3 billion dollars. The two reactors were scheduled to come on line in 1985 and 1988.
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before further nuclear plants could be constructed. Attempts to exempt the
Sundesert plant from the law failed in what was then called the California Assembly's Resources, Land Use and Energy Committee.
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The rejection of the
Sundesert plant was the last major effort to locate a new nuclear power plant in California. As of 2020, the final operational nuclear power plant in the state, the twin-reactor
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The utility most involved with the plant construction, San Diego Gas and
Electric with a 50% stake, had invested 100 million dollars in the failed project.
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voted to halt the construction of the two
Sundesert units in the "absence of federally demonstrated and approved technology for permanent disposal of
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501:"San Diego Gas and Electric, Sundesert Nuclear Power Plant Collection, 1974-1980 | Special Collections & University Archives"
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266:, Governor Brown stated he would never sign a bill allowing construction of a nuclear power plant in California. Soon afterwards the
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California had already enacted a state law in 1976 that mandated that a solution be found to the problem of safe disposal of
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Additionally, statewide public disapproval of nuclear power had increased significantly. In March 1978 in
California’s
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Blythe, California, surrounding fields, and the
Colorado River: the town is 15 miles from the canceled nuclear facility
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in
California was projected to expand on a major scale, with numerous proposals on the drafting boards of the state’s
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against local activists opposed to the location of the nuclear plant. According to nuclear power historian
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facility midway between Los
Angeles and San Francisco, is slated to be shut down no later than 2025.
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In the mid- and late 1970s, plans envisioned as future United States energy policy by the
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called for hundreds of new nuclear plants to be built nationwide. But under Governor
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Opposition to nuclear power plants in California began in 1958 over the proposed
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San Diego Gas and Electric, Sundesert Nuclear Power Plant Collection, 1974-1980
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240:. The location of the proposed nuclear plant was 160 miles east of the city of
137:, formally submitted in 1976. Facing firm opposition from the state's Governor
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520:(Report). Stone & Weber Engineering Corp. June 1976. p. Figure 3-3
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who was elected in 1975, California was heading in the opposite direction.
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In 1976, after purchasing the necessary parcel of land the previous year,
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Critical Masses: Opposition to Nuclear Power in California, 1958-1978
361:
Critical Masses: Opposition to Nuclear Power in California, 1958–1978
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Times, Ivan Penn and Samantha Masunaga/Los Angeles (June 21, 2016).
457:"Advocates of Nuclear Power Plants Keep Their Hopes on Back Burner"
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154:
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717:
630:
Luther J. Carter "Political Fallout from Three Mile Island",
376:
List of articles associated with nuclear issues in California
689:"California closing last nuclear plant after 3 decades"
490:, Gladwin Hill, April 18, 1978. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
1618:
Cancelled nuclear power stations in the United States
381:
List of canceled nuclear plants in the United States
274:". The Sundesert project was cancelled in May 1978.
16:"Sundesert" redirects here. Not to be confused with
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611:"Major Nuclear Power Plant Rejected in California"
583:Californian, The Bakersfield (February 27, 2010).
544:"Major Nuclear Power Plant Rejected in California"
171:. The six-year controversy pitted utility company
32:Proposed site of the Sundesert Nuclear Power Plant
537:
535:
515:Evaporation Basin Report Sundesert Nuclear Plant
482:Coast Legislators Apparently Doom Nuclear Plant
1587:Nuclear reactor accidents in the United States
262:The next month, April 1978, a year before the
729:
644:Wellock, Thomas Raymond (December 19, 1998).
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8:
1572:Regions of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
223:United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission
190:However, by the early 1970s, the future of
1577:Anti-nuclear movement in the United States
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283:commission vote not to approve the plant.
28:
528:– via California Energy Commission.
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572:, Ellen Jarosz. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
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159:California Governor Jerry Brown in 1978
7:
1582:Nuclear history of the United States
1549:Clinch River (Small Modular Reactor)
232:approximately 15 miles southwest of
219:San Diego Gas & Electric Company
1592:Nuclear safety in the United States
652:. Univ of Wisconsin Press. p.
620:– via www.WashingtonPost.com.
553:– via www.WashingtonPost.com.
351:Anti-nuclear movement in California
22:Sons of the Desert (disambiguation)
1613:Nuclear power plants in California
745:Nuclear power in the United States
425:"Nuclear Fault Line - Bodega Head"
371:Nuclear power in the United States
14:
455:BANCROFT, ANN (August 17, 1986).
333:
319:
305:
221:submitted an application to the
37:
167:near the small fishing town of
1416:Clinch River (Breeder Reactor)
673:– via Internet Archive.
634:, 204, April 13, 1979, p. 154.
609:Cannon, Lou (April 14, 1978).
542:Cannon, Lou (April 14, 1978).
400:"Journal of Political Ecology"
356:Bodega Bay Nuclear Power Plant
225:to construct two 974 MWe
165:Bodega Bay Nuclear Power Plant
1:
128:Sundesert Nuclear Power Plant
268:California Energy Commission
18:Desert Sun (disambiguation)
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585:"An unlikely no-nuke zone"
569:San Diego State University
264:Three Mile Island accident
230:pressurized water reactors
183:, in the scenic oceanside
90:33.4497806°N 114.7828944°W
15:
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1307:Sodium Reactor Experiment
341:Nuclear technology portal
291:Diablo Canyon Power Plant
113:
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693:SanDiegoUnionTribune.com
366:Energy use in California
173:Pacific Gas and Electric
95:33.4497806; -114.7828944
404:jpe.library.Arizona.edu
213:Proposal and rejection
169:Bodega Bay, California
160:
466:– via LA Times.
203:Carter Administration
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135:nuclear power station
675:bodega bay nuclear.
236:near the border of
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1623:Blythe, California
1353:whole plants only)
1172:Connecticut Yankee
431:. February 3, 2015
272:radioactive wastes
234:Blythe, California
181:Malibu, California
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1312:Three Mile Island
313:California portal
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1227:Hanford Site
1212:Fort Calhoun
968:Enrico Fermi
908:Turkey Point
838:Browns Ferry
803:Peach Bottom
752:NRC Region I
698:December 26,
696:. Retrieved
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669:December 19,
667:. Retrieved
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614:. Retrieved
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407:. Retrieved
403:
394:
288:
285:
281:
261:
254:
246:
227:Westinghouse
216:
200:
189:
162:
127:
125:
26:
1491:South River
1466:Marble Hill
1461:Levy County
1406:CFPP, Idaho
1332:Yankee Rowe
1282:Rancho Seco
1068:South Texas
1003:Quad Cities
993:Point Beach
958:Davis–Besse
818:Susquehanna
773:FitzPatrick
755:(Northeast)
257:Kern County
207:Jerry Brown
187:, in 1970.
139:Jerry Brown
93: /
69:Coordinates
1607:Categories
1501:Summer-2/3
1496:Stanislaus
1486:Sears Isle
1446:Hartsville
1401:Bodega Bay
1396:Blue Hills
1386:Bellefonte
1322:Vallecitos
1287:San Onofre
1267:Pathfinder
1078:Wolf Creek
1063:River Bend
1058:Palo Verde
1053:Grand Gulf
978:Monticello
873:North Anna
783:Hope Creek
387:References
151:Background
132:California
64:California
1506:Sundesert
1391:Black Fox
1381:Bell Bend
1347:Cancelled
1247:La Crosse
1202:Elk River
1087:Converted
1073:Waterford
983:Palisades
938:Braidwood
930:(Midwest)
918:Watts Bar
843:Brunswick
793:Millstone
278:Aftermath
242:San Diego
109:Cancelled
1511:Victoria
1481:Offshore
1476:Montague
1411:Cherokee
1366:Atlantic
1302:Shoreham
1242:Kewaunee
1104:Somerset
1033:Columbia
1028:Callaway
1023:Arkansas
888:Sequoyah
883:Robinson
813:Seabrook
788:Limerick
297:See also
61:Location
1524:3 and 5
1519:1 and 4
1272:Pilgrim
1207:Fermi 1
1099:Midland
973:LaSalle
963:Dresden
948:Clinton
868:McGuire
848:Catawba
830:(South)
632:Science
238:Arizona
146:History
53:Country
1541:Future
1515:WPPSS
1436:Galena
1376:Barton
1371:Bailly
1317:Trojan
1292:Saxton
1222:Hallam
1197:EBR II
1118:Closed
1109:Zimmer
1043:Cooper
1015:(West)
913:Vogtle
898:Summer
878:Oconee
858:Harris
853:Farley
660:
106:Status
1451:Haven
1277:Piqua
1192:EBR I
1160:SM-1A
1145:PM-3A
1130:MH-1A
988:Perry
943:Byron
903:Surry
863:Hatch
808:Salem
778:Ginna
518:(PDF)
115:[
1471:MM-1
1426:Erie
1337:Zion
1187:DAEC
1182:CVTR
1155:SM-1
1150:SL-1
1140:PM-1
1135:ML-1
1125:ANPP
953:Cook
700:2017
671:2017
658:ISBN
618:2017
596:2017
551:2017
526:2014
464:2017
437:2017
411:2017
126:The
1456:Lee
654:176
20:or
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587:.
566:,
534:^
484:,
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198:.
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730:t
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