Diablo Canyon Power Plant Units 1 and 2 will shut down in 2024-25, when their operating licenses expire, operator Pacific Gas & Electric Co. announced Tuesday as the company shifts toward “greenhouse-gas-free resources.”
Located about 12 miles southwest of San Luis Obispo, the Diablo Canyon nuclear units represent the last operating reactors in California. The company said the state’s shifting energy policies significantly reduce the need for electricity output at Diablo Canyon, citing California’s goal of increasing its renewable portfolio standard — the amount of energy produced by renewable sources — to 50 percent by 2030. PG&E announced Tuesday a joint proposal with labor and environmental groups that will boost investment in energy efficiency, renewables, and energy storage beyond current California mandates.
“California’s energy landscape is changing dramatically with energy efficiency, renewables and storage being central to the state’s energy policy,” PG&E Chairman, CEO, and President Tony Earley said in the statement. “This proposal recognizes the value of GHG-free nuclear power as an important bridge strategy to help ensure that power remains affordable and reliable and that we do not increase the use of fossil fuels while supporting California’s vision for the future.”
PG&E will partner with the following organizations: International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245, Coalition of California Utility Employees, Friends of the Earth, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environment California, and Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility.
The eight- to nine-year time frame for closure will allow PG&E time to replace Diablo Canyon’s output with new greenhouse-gas-free resources, the company said, adding that it doesn’t anticipate that the proposal will drive up customer rates.
“It is likely that implementing the proposal will have a lower overall cost than relicensing DCPP and operating it through 2044,” the company said. “Factors affecting this include, in addition to lower demand, declining costs for renewable power and the potential for higher renewable integration costs if DCPP is relicensed.”
Approval of the joint proposal will be contingent on a number of factors. They include: state approval of extension of the site’s lease past 2018; approval from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in replacing Diablo Canyon with greenhouse-gas-free sources; CPUC confirmation that PG&E investment in Diablo Canyon will be recovered by the time the units close in 2025; and CPUC approval of cost recovery for appropriate employee and community transition benefits.
Unit 1’s federal license is set to expire in November 2024, while unit 2 is set to expire in August 2025. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued each license 40 years prior. PG&E representatives could not be reached immediately to provide details on decommissioning Diablo Canyon.
