每日英語跟讀 Ep.K433: The Future of California’s Last Nuclear Power Plant

At a gathering of nuclear professionals and enthusiasts in Anaheim, California, a couple of months ago, the tenor of the conversations about the Diablo Canyon Power Plant — California’s last operating nuclear reactor — turned inconceivably hopeful.

數月前，在加州安那罕一場核專業人士與愛好者的聚會上，關於加州最後一座正在運行的核電廠魔鬼谷電廠的討論基調，變得不可思議地充滿希望。

The American Nuclear Society’s convention, held for four days in the shadow of Mickey Mouse, could not have picked a better venue to uplift spirits. And no one flashed a bigger grin than Gene Nelson, a standout not just for his towering height but also for his signature headbands and his yearslong campaign to keep Diablo Canyon running beyond a planned shutdown by the end of 2025.

這場在米老鼠陰影下舉行4天的美國核子學會大會，沒有比這更好的地方來振奮精神。沒有人比吉恩．尼爾森笑得更開心了。他引人注目，不只因為高大的身材，還有他的招牌髮帶，以及他多年來一直努力，希望讓預計2025年底關閉的魔鬼谷電廠能持續運轉。

“I thought our chances were zero,” Nelson, a government liaison for Californians for Green Nuclear Power, told the conference attendees about the effort to maintain nuclear power in the state. “What has happened since then, it’s been like a snowball.”

尼爾森是「加州人挺綠色核能」組織的政府聯絡員，他向與會者報告加州維持核能的行動說：「我還以為我們沒機會了，從那之後發生的事情就像滾雪球一樣。」

Pushing that snowball is Gov. Gavin Newsom. Although it seemed improbable that Diablo Canyon’s supporters could overcome the numerous challenges to maintain the plant’s operations, a lot has changed and those hurdles appear to be getting swallowed up in the growing clean energy movement.

推動這個雪球的是州長紐森。儘管魔鬼谷的支持者似乎不太可能克服眾多挑戰來維持電廠運作，但很多事情已發生變化，而且那些障礙顯然正被日益增長的清潔能源運動消除。

Last month, Newsom proposed a measure that would provide a forgivable loan of $1.4 billion to the plant’s owner to help resolve permitting, licensing and cost issues. The California Assembly would need to pass the legislation and have it signed in September to make the whole idea possible.

上個月，紐森提出一項措施，將向電廠擁有者提供14億美元可免除貸款，幫忙解決許可、發照及成本問題。加州議會將必須透過這項立法，並於9月簽署，才能讓整個想法成為可能。

In addition, the U.S. Energy Department made $6 billion available to nuclear plant owners to help keep existing facilities operating.

此外，美國能源部向核電廠擁有者提供60億美元，協助維持現有設施運作。

Gunda presented during a public conversation last month about the prospect of continuing the operations at Diablo, which produces about 9% of the state’s electricity.

上月一次公開談話中，加州能源委員會成員之一席瓦．岡達談及魔鬼谷繼續運作的前景。魔鬼谷發電量約占該州發電量的9%。

Even authors of a Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology report supporting the extension of Diablo Canyon noted that one of the two units had to be taken offline in 2020, the last time California experienced rolling blackouts. That has prompted some to urge caution.

就連史丹福大學和麻省理工學院一份支持魔鬼谷延役報告的作者也指出，兩座機組其中之一在2020年必須停機時，就是加州最近一次經歷輪流停電之時。這促使一些人呼籲要謹慎行事。

“I was a little bit heartbroken by the governor’s proposal,” said Najmedin Meshkati, an engineering professor at the University of Southern California who has inspected many nuclear plants throughout the world. “The word safety is only mentioned once in passing. They really need to bend over backward and go the extra mile to ensure the safety and reliability issues.”

曾赴世界許多核電廠視察的南加大工程學教授納吉米丁．梅許卡蒂說：「州長的提議讓我有點心碎。安全這個字只順便提到一次。他們真的必須盡力且付出更多努力，來確保安全性和可靠性的問題。」Source article: https://udn.com/news/story/6904/6584967