A nuclear Fresno?
Public Utilities Commission Chairman John Hutson is trying to persuade Mayor Alan Autry and the Fresno City Council to build a nuclear power plant next to the city's wastewater treatment plant. Hutson says nuclear energy is safe and it would help meet the city's energy needs.
The idea may not be as far-fetched as some believe. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. is looking at nuclear power plants to augment its energy supplies. A story in today's San Francisco Chrionicle points out that the idea has a big hurdle: "California law forbids building more nuclear plants within the state until the United States has a permanent site for storing radioactive waste." PG&E, however, is considering investing in nukes outside the state as a way to curb greenhouse gases, according to the Chron.
Here's the story.
PG&E also has several other alternative energy proposals, including solar power plants that would feature focused mirrors to heat water, generate steam and run electrical turbines, according to the Chron.
At a time of rapidly increasing demand on our energy supplies, we need to be looking at all avenues of supplying a U.S. population that doesn't want to cut back on energy use.