diablo canyon

When I first considered moving to San Luis Obispo, California, I learned of the nearby Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, and almost subscribed to a “not in my backyard” syndrome. But our power grids are strained by many things—including a computing revolution driven by artificial intelligence (AI), causing server stacks in data centers to consume […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) will award credits under its Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) program to bolster the continued operation of Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) Units 1 and 2, Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s (PG&E’s) 2,240-MW nuclear plant in San Luis Obispo County, California. A record of decision published by the agency’s Grid Deployment Office on […]

California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear plant can continue operating at least through much of 2030 after state energy regulators on Dec. 14 voted to keep the facility open an additional five years. The state’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on Thursday agreed to extend the closure date for Diablo Canyon, which originally was scheduled to shut down […]

A California judge rejected a lawsuit from an environmental group seeking to keep Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) from extending the operating life of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The judge on August 24 said a move by California lawmakers last year to extend the plant’s lifespan as part of the state’s regulatory oversight […]

An agreement to pull the plug on the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant in San Luis Obispo County was settled in 2016. But plans to close it in 2025 were delayed last year when California was hit in the mouth with an extreme heat wave that threatened the power grid. The realists, or rather near-realists, felt […]

The Biden administration has pledged another $1.2 billion to help extend the operating life of older or distressed nuclear power plants, with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm saying nuclear power is needed to support the nation’s clean energy goals. The funding, announced by the Dept. of Energy (DOE) on March 2, is the second tranche of […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has denied a request from California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to renew a review of an operating license application for the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. The move at least temporarily puts on hold plans to extend the operation of two reactors at Diablo Canyon, the last operating […]

The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) first round of funding from its $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) Program is poised to go to Diablo Canyon Power Plant, California’s only operational nuclear plant. Pacific Gas & Electric  (PG&E), Diablo Canyon’s owner, could receive up to $1.1 billion in credits to extend the 2.2-GW plant’s operation for […]

California’s lawmakers have passed Senate Bill 846, effectively offering Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) a pathway to keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant open until at least 2030. The bill, authored by Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham, a Republican from San Luis Obispo, and Democratic state Sen. Bill Dodd of Napa, passed the California Assembly by 69–3 […]

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a plan that would keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant open into 2035, a decade beyond the facility’s current closure date. The proposal, which in part includes giving plant owner Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) a forgivable $1.4-billion loan, was included in a draft legislative package sent to […]