OCEANSIDE —— A town hall meeting on proposed repairs at the San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station on Tuesday turned into a referendum on nuclear power itself.

Most of the 28 people who spoke at the meeting, held by the California Public Utilities Commission, came down against spending more than $800 million to replace four steam generators at San Onofre's two functioning nuclear reactors.

Southern California Edison, San Onofre's majority owner, has asked the commission for permission to replace the generators and to pass the cost to its customers. The utility claims that cracking inside the monolithic steam generators, which produce steam that in turn spins turbines to produce electricity, could be unusable by 2010, meaning San Onofre would have to shut down.

Many, but not all, of those who spoke Tuesday said they would prefer that the commission deny Edison's request and invest in renewable energy sources such as solar power and wind energy.

Oceanside resident Maegan Prentice said she has already installed photovoltaic cells on the roof of her home that turn sunlight into electricity. She said that if 18 percent of the rooftops in San Diego County were covered with solar panels, there would be no need for San Onofre.

"If we keep putting money into projects that are already doomed, we just keep putting off the future," she said.

Pastor J. Steven Beckham drove to Oceanside from Riverside to call for a shift from atomic power to green energy. He said it would take about 100 square miles of solar panels to power the nation.

"Do we have 100 square miles of rooftops in Southern California?" he asked. "I think we do. We've got the resources to do clean power now."

As did several other speakers, Beckham noted that nuclear power plants generate radioactive waste which the nation still has not decided where to store.

"I just can't see how it's ethical from any point of view," Beckham said.

Al Tschaeche of Encinitas was one of several in attendance who defended San Onofre's repair plans. Tschaeche said he worked as a health physicist in the nuclear industry for more than 50 years and found no evidence of chronic health risks.

"There's nothing wrong with nuclear power," he said.

Tschaeche noted that, if San Onofre is not repaired, the plant would likely have to be replaced with several natural gas-fired power plants. He noted that burning fossil fuels generates carbon dioxide, which contributes to worldwide temperature increases known as global warming.

A draft environmental impact report commissioned by the utilities commission provides contrary statements about the viability of renewable energy. The report states that it would not be feasible to replace the more than 2,200 megawatts of electricity San Onofre generates —— enough to power more than 2 million homes —— with renewable sources.

After the meeting, Commissioner Geoffrey Brown said the debate over atomic versus renewable power is at the crux of the commission's decision on whether to allow the repairs that Edison has requested.

"The question is whether we can subtract nuclear energy and totally replace it with renewables. At this point, I don't think we can do that," Brown said.

Contact staff writer Paul Sisson at (760) 901-4087 or psisson@nctimes.com.