Artificial reef is restoring marine life at San Onofre power plant

Driving the news: The Wheeler North Reef project, built to offset those losses, met its restoration goals, including improving kelp growth and fish production, for the first time during its three-year existence, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

• Given the reef's success, the California Coastal Commission approved a program to reduce monitoring of the site at its March monthly meeting.
• That will save the utility Southern California Edison, operator of the plant and reef, time and money.

Flashback: The plant shut down in 2013 after defects were found in its replacement steam generators, and it's still being dismantled, per the U-T.

• The $4.7 billion demolition project started in 2020 and is expected to be complete by 2028.

How it works: The 2.5 miles of reef made of rock act as an anchor for giant kelp to grow, creating a canopy-like forest for fish, sea lions, whales, birds and other marine life.

• In 2019, Edison expanded the reef by about 200 acres to further mitigate the environmental impacts.

What's next: The reef, among the world's largest made by man, must continue to meet its performance goals for 27 more years.