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San Onofre closed is no great loss

Despite warnings from nuclear proponents, dirty natural gas use isn't rising at area power plants

A common argument used by those in favor of repairing the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and of renewing the license of Diablo Canyon, the state's last operating nuclear power plant (Pacific Gas & Electric has since announced the plant will be shuttered in 2025), was that the absence of nuclear in the state's energy portfolio would lead to an increased reliance on heavier-polluting natural gas.

A new report from fossil fuels market data firm Argus Media suggests this claim may be off base.

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Most new natural gas plants, including the controversial Carlsbad Energy Center, Argus finds, are being built to replace aging facilities, not supplement them. Even then, gas plants are going offline faster than they're being rebuilt.

"An Argus analysis found that 4,264MW of new gas-fired generation could come on line by 2020, but 5,752MW are being shut down," the group reports. "New facilities will be built at a number of the same locations as those being torn down."

Despite the unexpected and sudden closure of San Onofre coupled with extreme drought conditions that cut the yield from the state's hydroelectric generating systems, Argus notes that the state's energy grid remained stable.

This isn't good news for those in the natural gas business, especially as renewable energy continues to compose an increasingly larger share of the state's portfolio. According to the provided figures, natural gas prices in California have fallen to their lowest point since 2014, and a recovery isn't expected before the end of the decade.

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A common argument used by those in favor of repairing the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and of renewing the license of Diablo Canyon, the state's last operating nuclear power plant (Pacific Gas & Electric has since announced the plant will be shuttered in 2025), was that the absence of nuclear in the state's energy portfolio would lead to an increased reliance on heavier-polluting natural gas.

A new report from fossil fuels market data firm Argus Media suggests this claim may be off base.

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Most new natural gas plants, including the controversial Carlsbad Energy Center, Argus finds, are being built to replace aging facilities, not supplement them. Even then, gas plants are going offline faster than they're being rebuilt.

"An Argus analysis found that 4,264MW of new gas-fired generation could come on line by 2020, but 5,752MW are being shut down," the group reports. "New facilities will be built at a number of the same locations as those being torn down."

Despite the unexpected and sudden closure of San Onofre coupled with extreme drought conditions that cut the yield from the state's hydroelectric generating systems, Argus notes that the state's energy grid remained stable.

This isn't good news for those in the natural gas business, especially as renewable energy continues to compose an increasingly larger share of the state's portfolio. According to the provided figures, natural gas prices in California have fallen to their lowest point since 2014, and a recovery isn't expected before the end of the decade.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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