Bodega Bay Nuclear Power Plant
| Company type | Planned nuclear power facility |
|---|---|
| Industry | Energy |
| Founded | 1958 |
| Fate | Project cancelled due to local opposition and seismic concerns |
| Headquarters | Bodega Bay, California , United States |
Area served | Northern California |
| Owner | Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) |
The Bodega Bay Nuclear Power Plant was a planned nuclear energy facility in Northern California that was never completed due to strong local opposition during the 1960s. Construction had begun on its foundations situated just west of the active San Andreas Fault before the project was terminated. This incident is widely regarded as the catalyst for the modern anti-nuclear movement.
History
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) intended to establish the first commercially operational nuclear power plant in the United States at Bodega Bay, California, a small fishing community approximately fifty miles north of San Francisco. The proposal, announced in 1958, immediately generated significant controversy because of its location near the San Andreas Fault and concerns about adverse effects on the local fishing and dairy economies. Geologically, Bodega Head is positioned on the Pacific Plate, while the town itself lies on the North American Plate. Fishermen worried that thermal pollution would damage their catch, and many residents resisted changes that could disrupt their traditional way of life.
A local property owner, Rose Gaffney, took legal action against PG&E to protect her land on Bodega Head, facilitating inspections by authorities of seismic fault lines in the area. The Sierra Club played an active role in opposing the site, and Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall voiced significant reservations about the project. The Northern California Association to Preserve Bodega Head (NCAPBH) emerged as an advocacy group, issuing public appeals and organizing demonstrations, including a notable 1963 balloon release event symbolizing the dangers of radioactive contamination.
Following an unfavorable assessment by the United States Atomic Energy Commission in 1964, PG&E retracted its application and abandoned construction plans. The excavation pit near the tip of Bodega Head remains visible today, partially flooded and colloquially referred to as the "Hole in the Head." Historian Thomas Wellock highlights this episode as a foundational moment for anti-nuclear activism across the United States.
A comparable nuclear power plant proposal by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power near Malibu was also discontinued in 1970.
See also
- Allens Creek Nuclear Power Plant
- Anti-nuclear movement in California
- Critical Masses: Opposition to Nuclear Power in California, 1958–1978
- Energy in California
- List of canceled nuclear plants in the United States
- Nuclear power in the United States
- Stanislaus Nuclear Power Plant
- Sundesert Nuclear Power Plant
References