California okays coastal power-plant modifications- adopts rules to restrict use of ocean water

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0517507120100505

- California water resource regulators, seeking to protect marine life, approved a policy late on Tuesday that will force closure or costly changes at 19 coastal power plants that use ocean water to cool equipment.

The policy, which calls for reduction of ocean water use by 93 percent over a period of years, would affect power plants totaling 23,000 megawatts.

This is more than one-third of the installed capacity in the state and would include California's two nuclear stations, Southern California Edison's (EIX.N) 2,150-megawatt San Onofre nuclear station near San Diego and PG&E Corp's (PCG.N) 2,240-MW Diablo Canyon station north of Los Angeles. Retrofit cost at the two nuclear plants pegged at $7 billion.

The policy to largely replace ocean water cooling systems has been under development for about five years. It involved input from state environmental and power-related agencies, consumer groups opposed to local plants and marine protection groups.

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