The debate over California’s energy future, and the role of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, is far from over.
At a California Coastal Commission meeting, state regulators pressed the utility company Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to make stronger environmental commitments as the utility seeks to extend operations at the plant through 2030.
PG&E representative Tom Jones told commissioners the company is following state law in its request to keep the plant running.
“SB 846 is quite clear,” Jones said. “It requires the California Energy Commission on an annual basis to see if the plant’s needed. They do that. They comply with the law, and their findings are, the plant’s needed.”
Senate Bill 846, passed in 2022, allows Diablo Canyon to continue operating beyond its original closure dates to help the state maintain grid reliability during California’s transition to fossil-free energy.
But coastal commission members said PG&E’s mitigation proposal didn’t go far enough to offset the plant’s environmental impacts.
Commission Chair Megan Harmon called the company’s plan ‘insufficient.’
“We, simply put, need more,” Harmon said. “I really want to get to yes today. I do.”
Commissioners are pushing PG&E to include a conservation easement covering more than 12,000 acres of nearby ranch land. The proposed easement would permanently limit development, preserve agricultural and state lands and maintain public access to about 25 miles of trails along the coast.
The coastal commission ultimately postponed its decision, giving PG&E time to strengthen its proposal before the end of the year.
Diablo Canyon is California’s last remaining nuclear power plant. PG&E filed its application two years ago, citing the need to keep the facility online as the state transitions toward a clean energy future.
