A majority of utility customers in San Diego and Orange counties say climate change considerations should weigh in replacing power from the recently retired San Onofre nuclear plant, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Sierra Club.
The survey conducted by Raleigh, N.C.-based Public Policy Polling found 51 percent of utility customers believe the “potential impact on climate disruption” should be a major consideration in replacing San Onofre. An additional 25 percent said climate issues should be a minor consideration, 19 percent said climate should not be a consideration at all and 5 percent were not sure.
The survey questioned 1,065 power customers from Jan. 3-5 with an error margin of 3.0 percentage points. San Diego Gas & Electric customers accounted for 72 percent of respondents: Southern California Edison customers accounted for the other 28 percent.
A state-endorsed plan on how to replace San Onofre’s power is due in early 2014. The coastal plant in northern San Diego County provided enough electricity to sustain 1.4 million Southern California homes until it was shut down in January 2012 because of a radiation leak, and the plant’s voltage also was critical to importing electricity from outside the region. The dual reactors were retired in June because of faulty replacement steam generators.
read more: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jan/08/survey-hightlights-green-energy/