Nuclear power has had a renaissance of sorts within the last decade. With more focus on combatting climate change, there has been an increased interest in all types of green energy, even if it’s not renewable.
President Joe Biden set a goal to decarbonize the power grid by 2035 and his administration sees nuclear power as a critical component of that. In California, a bigger thirst for power combined with increasing drought reducing the amount of hydroelectric power, nuclear energy began to get the attention of Governor Gavin Newsom as well.
In 2022, Newsom worked with state lawmakers to get Senate Bill 846 passed. It effectively agreed to lend PG&E $1.4 billion and help with the process if the company would agree to change course and request a license renewal for the Diablo Canyon Power Plant.
“So we were affectionately known as Team Pivot,” explained Maureen Zawalick, Vice President of Business and Technical Services at Diablo Canyon Power Plant. “It was quite the pivot. No other nuclear plant has done this, and because we'd been operating so safely, continuing to invest in the plant for reliability and so forth, it wasn't too difficult of a pivot.”
With approvals from multiple regulatory bodies and agencies hanging in the balance, the clock was ticking. There were less than two years before the decommissioning process was set to begin.
First up with an approval was the California Public Utilities Commission.
“So they just approved us to go to 2029 and 2030, and that's, you know, our funding source through that mechanism,” Zawalick said. “The California State Lands Commission, the permits, they're now extended to 2029 to 2030. Any permits we need from the California Coastal Commission? We'll navigate through that.”
The approval came with some conditions. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) must continue to authorize the plant to operate, the utility must secure and maintain a $1.1 billion federal loan (which was approved by the Biden Administration), and the Public Utilities Commission cannot make a future determination that extended plant operations “are imprudent or unreasonable.”
As for the NRC, if a nuclear power plant applies for licensure within a “reasonable” time and the license application is deemed complete, the plant can continue to operate during application review even if the current license expires.
The NRC accepted PG&E’s application in December of 2023, which will allow the plant to continue generating electricity past its current license expiration of later this year for Unit 1 and next year for Unit 2. The application asked for a 20-year extension.
“The NRC process and their regulation looks at it from a 20-year time frame, from an environmental standpoint and from aging management and from a safety perspective. Okay, so there's a tremendous benefit of asking for 20 years with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission per their process, because it gives maximum optionality for the state,” Zawalick said.
Meaning that if the state decides to extend its current five-year extension approval through 2030, the federal approval will already be in place.
Those opposed to license extension are also moving forward with their attempts to get the plant to shut down as scheduled.
Three climate groups filed a motion for the immediate closure of Diablo in March of 2024, saying the nuclear plant poses an “unacceptable safety risk.”
San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, Environmental Working Group, and Friends of the Earth also requested a hearing with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to force the agency to consider the groups’ safety concerns.
They say the location near earthquake faults makes it susceptible to an earthquake that could cause a catastrophic nuclear meltdown.
“So, Diablo Canyon is the most studied region, from a seismic standpoint of any nuclear plant in the United States and possibly the world, as a condition of our original license to operate these plants and it will continue into extended operations,” Zawalick countered.
But the environmental groups’ court filing also says keeping the plant open “hurts the state’s shift to safe, renewable energy and prolongs the risk of disaster at the plant.”
“It inputs 24/7. You can't ramp up and down a nuclear power plant on the basis of need because it's too dangerous,” said Jane Swanson, one of the original members of Mothers for Peace. “That's how things get out of control. And so, as long as it's inputting this into the western grid, you can't add more renewables, so it's counterintuitive but this big source of electricity is blocking the addition of some renewables.”
Even with CPUC approval and NRC application review, several more agencies have yet to weigh in and can derail the license extension process, including the California Coastal Commission, the California State Lands Commission, the California Energy Commission, and the California Air Resources Board.
So for now, PG&E is moving forward on two different tracks – planning for continued operation (the plant’s Unit 2 reactor is currently being refueled), and planning for the plant’s eventual decommissioning.
“The state has a few more to do. So now, I just say that we continue to, like every nuclear plant is, planning for decommissioning no matter where you are on the timeline,” Zawalick said.
Whether it is 5, 10 or 20 years from now, the plant will eventually need to be shut down. Next Tuesday, tune in for part four of our series, “The Diablo Dilemma.” Anchor Richard Gearhart will have a look at the plans to decommission the plant and what happens to the property when the power plant stops operating.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
On Wednesday, May 22, the Diablo Canyon Decommissioning Engagement Panel will host an in-person and virtual meeting from 6-9 p.m. at the Atascadero City Hall. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss how the 750-acre site on which Diablo Canyon Power Plant is located could be repurposed in the future.
To attend the meeting virtually, visit the Panel's website.
Also on Wednesday, the NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will hear oral arguments on the petition from Mothers for Peace, the Environmental Working Group, and Friends of the Earth.
The hearing will be held at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, but the public can listen in by calling 301-576-2978 and entering the passcode 628 518 148 #. It can also be viewed online via the NRC’s webcast portal.
WATCH: Part 1 of The Diablo Dilemma: A look back at the nuclear power plant's complicated history
WATCH: Part 2 of The Diablo Dilemma: What led to a last-minute attempt to keep the nuclear power plant running
