Post–San Onofre, activists demand green energy

Southern California Edison, the operator and majority owner of San Diego's now-defunct San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, is facing similar pressure to that felt locally by San Diego Gas & Electric from activists demanding replacement power for the shuttered nuclear plant come from "green" sources.

Activists representing a handful of groups rallied in front of Edison's Rosemead headquarters east of Los Angeles on March 10, protesting plans to replace San Onofre with fossil-fuel-powered generators.

"Today we’re calling on Southern California Edison to be better members of our community and publicly reject new gas plants," said Sierra Club leader Opamago Agyemang in a release following the demonstration. The group instead suggests larger investment in solar, geothermal, or hydroelectric technology.

The California Public Utilities Commission is considering how to address the loss of power from San Onofre; a plan is expected to be released later this week. The commission has already approved one new gas-fired plant, Pio Pico, to be placed in the Otay Mesa neighborhood near the U.S./Mexico border, an area already suffering from high pollution levels.