After two decades the California Energy Commission will include "Nuclear Topics" in its Planning Report for 2005

The California Energy Commission will hold a two day workshop on "Nuclear Topics" on Aug 15/16 in Sacramento. The workshop is an effort to ascertain whether nuclear power is a viable option for future generation of energy in our state.

The California Energy Commission has announced the first workshop in over 20 years to address the future of nuclear power. The CEC workshop announcement states: "California law prohibits the construction of any new nuclear power plants in California until the Energy Commission finds that the federal government has approved and there exists a demonstrated technology for the permanent disposal of spent fuel from these facilities. California's existing nuclear power plants provide a significant amount of California's non-fossil fuel based energy and power, but produce significant amounts of spent nuclear fuel. Continued operation of these plants will require substantial investments in replacement steam generators, turbines and other major pieces of equipment, ongoing recruitment and training to maintain an experienced nuclear work force, and accommodation of evolving federal policy regarding nuclear technology, in addition to other requirements."

The workshop is open to the public. Those who cannot attend can view a webcast of the workshop on the CEC website.http://www.energy.ca.gov/2005_energypolicy/notices/2005-08-15_16_workshop_notice.html