Earthquake risks and rising costs: The price of operating California’s last nuclear plant
Amid coastal bluffs speckled with brush and buckwheat, Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant uses this energy to spin two massive copper coils at a blistering 30 revolutions per second. In 2022, these generators — about the size of school buses — produced 6% of Californians’ power and 11% of their non-fossil energy.
PG&E to dredge Diablo Canyon intake system
Diablo Canyon is California’s only remaining nuclear plant and is the largest energy producer, generating 8 percent of the state’s electricity. The plant’s remaining two reactors were scheduled for shutdown in 2024 and 2030, respectively, but received five-year extensions to continue operating. Meanwhile, Diablo Canyon has also applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a 20-year license extension.
The arrow is pointing up
There have been significant changes in the outlook for the existing U.S. nuclear fleet in the last few years. In 2021, we were looking at the early closure of units and could not even think of license extension. Since then, the combination of the U.S. government recognizing the clean-air benefits of nuclear and the impact of the war in Ukraine has resulted in a lot of positive activity on Capitol Hill for nuclear.