Lawmakers approve plan to keep Diablo Canyon nuclear plant open 5 more years

SAN LUIS OBISPO – As California faces a prolonged period of heat and expected strain on the energy grid this week, lawmakers voted to extend the life of the state’s last nuclear power plant by five years early Thursday morning.

The Diablo Canyon Power Plant, located in San Luis Obispo County, was scheduled to close by 2025 after PG&E reached a settlement with environmental and labor groups seeking its closure in 2016.

But as California shuts down its oil, gas and coal operations—and faces a rise in demand for more electricity among heat waves and electric vehicle sales—legislators began to reconsider keeping Diablo Canyon open as a clean source of energy. The power plant is responsible for almost 9 percent of the state’s energy production, according to data from the California Energy Commission.

State Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, who authored Senate Bill 846 to extend the life of Diablo Canyon, said this legislation is essential to prevent rolling blackouts and increased electricity bills from importing unsustainable sources out of state.

The bill, co-authored by Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham, R-San Luis Obispo, was also supported by Gov. Gavin Newsom and backed by the state’s Public Advocates Office and the California Independent System Operator, which manages electricity over the state’s high-voltage transmission lines.

“We need to have this option available to keep the lights on and keep making progress towards net-zero carbon emissions. Blackouts are a real threat and pose economic, health and safety risks, especially for the most vulnerable Californians. I thank Gov. Newsom and the Legislature for advancing this bill, which will lead to greater investment in clean, renewable sources,” Dodd said in a statement.

In June, PG&E requested the U.S. Department of Energy to extend the application period for its $6 billion federal Civil Nuclear Credit Program, a federal effort to keep nuclear power plants open across the nation. The utility cannot apply before the Sept. 6 deadline until the legislation is signed off by the governor.

In August, Newsom also proposed a $1.4 billion loan to PG&E to keep the plant running. California expects this loan to be paid off at least partially from the federal program.

Though operation is only granted for an additional five years, interest group Californians for Green Nuclear Power said they are “ecstatic” to see nuclear power being considered as a viable option for energy production. 

“It’s unfortunate it took the lights going out for many to appreciate Diablo Canyon’s value, but better late than never,” Carl Wurtz, the organization’s president, said in a statement.

State Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, met with leaders from the California Energy Commission, the governor’s office and the California Independent System Operator last month to discuss the ways the Diablo Canyon Power Plant could back California’s clean energy—and the concerns needing to be addressed before its lifespan extends.

Liard said the plant closure scheduled for 2025 was a “settled issue” that took years to resolve between many stakeholders. He feels talks of an extension are happening fast, and that there needs to be more conversation on who pays, how it’ll be safe and where spent nuclear fuel will be stored, among other factors.

“The bottom line is, we are now faced with a situation where everything that would have been done to renew Diablo Canyon’s operation beyond 2025 during these last sixteen years, when PG&E first applied for a license renewal, would be collapsed into a three-year window—if there is a decision taken to extend the life of the plant,” Laird said at an Aug. 12 workshop.

California legislators also funneled millions of dollars into San Luis Obispo County in 2018 via Senate Bill 1090 to prepare the community for the power plant’s closure. In a letter to Newsom in August, mayors of nine cities surrounding Diablo Canyon said much of these funds have already been spent, and more would be needed should the timeline change. 

“The potential extension of the operations at DCPP is a regional issue that goes beyond San Luis Obispo County. As a region we strongly believe that together we rise,” the mayors wrote in a joint letter.

A group of senior executives representing some of the state’s largest employers—called the California Business Roundtable—said the scramble to prevent rolling blackouts is a “clear warning sign” that Newsom’s new energy policies are not solving the reliability and affordability issues in California.

“These new policies will increase our risk and costs in the future, which is why we need a diversified energy portfolio, including renewable natural gas for our peaker plants and why we support legislation to continue operating the Diablo Canyon power plant long into the future,” said Rob Lapsley, president of the organization.