California Gov. Newsom approves $1.4B loan to keep Diablo Canyon Nuclear plant running to 2030

Sept. 7, 2022
The extension was desired because California’s grid, quickly shifting to intermittent renewables, is in need of baseload power. Nuclear energy also does not emit greenhouse gases

California Governor Gavin Newsom has authorized the extension of operations at the Pacific Gas and Electric Company-owned Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) in San Luis Obispo County for five years beyond the current license expiration in 2025.

The extension was desired because California’s grid, quickly shifting to intermittent renewables, is in need of baseload power. Nuclear energy also does not emit greenhouse gases.

PG&E still requires the necessary U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licenses and other state regulatory approvals.

The state will also provide a loan of up to $1.4 billion to the utility to support the extension. The Senate Bill 846, which authorises the extension of operations, also directs the utility to secure funds from the U.S Department of Energy and other federal funding to pay back the loan and lower costs for customers.

“PG&E is committed to California’s clean energy future. As a regulated utility, we follow the energy policies of the state. We are proud of the role Diablo Canyon plays in providing safe, reliable, low-cost and carbon-free energy to our customers and Californians,” PG&E CEO Patti Poppe said in a statement. “We will do our part to help the state achieve its energy reliability and decarbonization goals, while continuing to run one of the top performing plants in the country. The team of people at Diablo Canyon delivers for our hometowns every day through their industry-leading commitment to safe operations.”

Diablo Canyon power plant can generate 2.2 GW of electricity at capacity and provides close to a fifth of the state’s zero-carbon power generation.

California opted to close the nuclear plant as it transitions to a goal of 100 percent renewables by 2050. A heat wave, wildfires, rolling blackout dangers and load conservation requests are pushing state energy leaders to consider holding on to nuclear for a long while.

Diablo Canyon Nuclear power plant's units went into operations in the 1980s.

Nuclear energy accounts for 20 percent of the U.S. electricity resource mix and more than half of the nation's carbon-free power. 

About the Author

EnergyTech Staff

Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

He can be reached at [email protected]

EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.