The iconic domes at San Onofre nuclear power plant that have served as landmarks for millions of drivers on Interstate 5 passing through Camp Pendleton for more than four decades will be demolished starting next year, an official at SoCal Edison told NBC 7.
The site came online back in 1967 with Unit 1, which was later demolished. It, too had a dome, though officials called it a “beach ball,” not the term most San Diegans have referred to the pair of cylindrical structures — Units 2 and 3 — that started generating power in ’83 and ’84, respectively. They were retired in June 2013.
Ron Pontes, SoCal Edison’s site-closure manager, has been working on the demolition project since 2014, methodically deconstructing dozens of structures on site. These days, he’s joined by about 350 other people on the project
“Unit 3 will be first, and we anticipate starting deconstruction of the building — of the exterior part of the building — in fourth quarter of 2026, and we think it’s gonna take about eight months to remove the Unit 3 building, and then, once we finish it, Unit 2 should be ready to come down,” Pontes said on Tuesday. “It may even start a little bit earlier.”…