IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. (KEYT) – On Thursday, the California Coastal Commission approved with conditions the continued operation of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant.
According to Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) which operates the facility, the power plant is California's largest and only remaining nuclear power plant in operation which generates enough electricity for about three million people, approximately nine percent of the state's electricity output.
The image below shows the location of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, courtesy of the California Coastal Commission.
The site features two Westinghouse Pressurized Water Reactor units that were set to be retired in 2024 for Unit 1 and 2025 for Unit 2 after operations started in 1985.
In September of 2022, Senate Bill 846 was signed into law which extended operations for an additional five years for each unit and authorized a $1.4 billion loan from the state to its operator.
"Diablo Canyon Power Plant is safely generating clean electricity 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, rain or shine," said Diablo Canyon Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer Paula Gerfen after PG&E filed for a license renewal with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in November of 2023. "We’re all excited for the opportunity to continue serving the state and help power California’s clean energy future."
The federal regulatory agency approved continued operations at the plant while it conducted its multi-year review of PG&E's license renewal application the following month.
On Thursday, the California Coastal Commission approved with conditions both a 20-year federal operating license as well as a Coastal Development Permit that applies to the timeline for continued operations established in SB 846.
While state regulators are prohibited from imposing requirements regarding radiation hazards or nuclear safety, which are exclusively handled by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, it can impose requirements found within the California Coastal Act and the California Coastal Management Program detailed the California Coastal Commission, the environmental regulatory body created by state and federal laws.
"The primary adverse impacts to coastal resources associated with the proposed relicensed and extended operations of DCPP [Diablo Canyon Power Plant] are those to marine biological resources and productivity related to entrainment, which occurs when the power plant draws in seawater for its once-through-cooling (“OTC”) system...DCPP uses about 2.5 billion gallons of seawater per day, which equals almost a cubic mile of seawater per year," noted the California Coastal Commis