-------------------=========================-------------------
                   G  R  E  N  P  E  A  C  E

                   P r e s s   R e l e a s e
                                    14.10.94
-------------------=========================-------------------

Greenpeace leads solar caravan to nuke plant demo Cyrus Mobile Solar Generator Demonstrates Clean Energy Capability

SAN CLEMENTE, California, September 24, 1994 (GP) Visitors to the San Clemente 1994 Community Fall Swap Meet got a dose of solar power and a chance to help shut down a nuclear plant when Greenpeace brought its mobile solar generator, CYRUS, to the South Coast on Saturday, kicking off the final leg of its summer-long Power for the People tour.

As folk singers sang into solar-powered microphones at the Swap Meet, Greenpeace was joined by the Alliance for Survival and the Surfrider Foundation in sponsoring an educational exhibit on the enormous risks of fossil fuel-fed climate change, and the truth about the dangers of nuclear power.

"The nuclear industry wants people to believe that nukes are the answer to the problem of oil, coal and gas emissions that are choking the atmosphere and sending the climate out of control," said Greenpeace's Kelly Quirke. "The truth is that the only safe and affordable solution to cutting polluting emissions while meeting our energy needs is efficient, renewable energy."

After the Swap Meet demonstrations, the 40 foot-long, soy diesel-fuelled CYRUS led a caravan of activists to the San Onofre nuclear power plant, currently the source of controversy concerning its environmental and economic costs. As music played and anti-nuclear banners were displayed, revellers called for the rapid shut-down of the plant.

Earlier this spring, a staff report of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) recommended that the nuke, operated by Southern California Edison (SCE), be shut down in 1998, 15 years ahead of schedule.

Public hearings are currently being held throughout California regarding the CPUC plan.

More about CYRUS: Bringing the power of renewable energy to the people, the Greenpeace mobile solar generator - CYRUS - has been powering concerts, radio broadcasts, public forums and community fairs across the US and Canada since April.

Greenpeace is using CYRUS to point out that the barriers to clean energy are political, not technical, and that scientific warnings and the emerging impacts of climate change demand an immediate transition to renewable and efficient energy systems.

Cyrus is a 40 foot long, soy-diesel fuelled tractor trailer topped with a 40 panel array of photovoltaic solar collectors. With its internal battery bank and two inverters, it can store 100,000 watt hours of electricity and deliver 90 amps at 240 volts.

Contact: Kelly Quirke, Greenpeace, (415) 512-9025 (415) 512-9130 x184 (message)
Christopher Childs, Greenpeace, (310) 455-2957

Joey, 24 Oct 94