California’s energy policy and planning agency said this week that the Golden State should take action to keep its last operating nuclear power plant online through the end of the decade, according to a press release.
The California Energy Commission’s (CEC) staff analysis of Diablo Canyon Power Plant, published Tuesday, recommended that Sacramento pursue keeping the Avila Beach, Calif., facility online through 2030 “to ensure electricity reliability,” according to the release.
CEC staff found that, with Diablo Canyon offline, California “risks energy supply shortfalls” from climate change-induced extreme weather events, the commission said. Extending the plant’s lifetime would also allow the state to rely less on natural gas generation and more on clean energy.
Under a sweeping climate bill signed in August by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), the commission was directed to determine whether the state should extend Diablo Canyon’s license, which was set to expire in 2025. The legislation also opened up around $1.4 billion in state-stewarded loans for plant operator Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E).
Diablo Canyon in November also received a conditional bailout from the Department of Energy, to the tune of around $1.1 billion.
“As California confronts a rapidly changing climate, extraordinary heat events and record energy demand are becoming increasingly ordinary. The state needs to keep all options on the table to protect public health and safety,” CEC vice chair Siva Gunda said in a statement. “This includes maintaining Diablo Canyon’s operations to support reliability statewide in the near-term.”
PG&E has applied with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend Diablo Canyon’s operating license through 2030. NRC in January rejected a request from the utility to pick up where it left off on a mothballed 2009 license renewal request for the plant, forcing PG&E to instead submit a new application.
The agency is reviewing a separate request for a regulatory exemption that would allow PG&E to operate Diablo Canyon on its current license, which expires at the end of 2025, while NRC reviews an extension. If approved, PG&E would have until Dec. 31 to submit a new application.
