The future of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant is under review. This week, officials met to discuss options for the site after its decommissioning.
The Diablo Canyon Decommissioning Engagement Panel and the plant’s operator, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), went over an environmental impact report that listed several repurposing options for the nearly 800-acre site.
Susan Strachan with the San Luis Obispo County planning department helped draft the report.
“We took information from the strategic plan, different sources and collectively came up with these concepts, but it did also include information provided by PG&E,” Strachan said.
Possible repurposing ideas include turning the site into an energy research lab for Cal Poly, a desalination plant, or an offshore wind area for the Central Coast.
Mona Tucker, tribal chairwoman for Yaktitutitu Yak Tilhini, said the land should be preserved.
“Everything that happens at Diablo lands is of special interest to our tribe, as this is land that was stolen from us,” Tucker said. “We were removed violently from there.”
Another proposed concept is turning the land into a local indigenous historic preservation site.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is reviewing PG&E’s application to renew the plant’s license for another 20 years.
