E&E: California’s Diablo nuclear plant gets 20-year extension from federal regulators
California’s nuclear plant gets 20-year extension from federal regulators
The decision extends the life of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, which has operated since 1985.
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| 04/03/2026 06:33 AM EDT
The Diablo Canyon Power Plant sits on California's Central Coast.Pacific Gas and Electric
ENERGYWIRE | Federal officials on Thursday approved a 20-year extension for California’s only nuclear power plant, capping a remarkable turnaround for a facility that was previously slated to retire and bolstering the ongoing resurgence of American nuclear energy.
What happened: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Acting Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Jeremy Groom signed off on Pacific Gas & Electric’s license renewal application to extend operations of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant through 2045. That opens the door to the plant staying open for another two decades, but to do so, it will also need permission from the state, which has so far only authorized operations through 2030.
“As California advances its clean energy and reliability goals, Diablo Canyon remains a stabilizing force on a dynamic grid,” Groom said during the signing ceremony. “It provides a steady source of carbon-free power during a period of rapid transition, supporting climate objectives while ensuring that the lights stay on in homes and businesses across the state.”
Why it matters: The NRC decision sets the stage for a major debate in the California Legislature over whether to extend the state's current permissions for the plant. The contours of that conversation, which have largely focused on grid reliability and energy affordability, illustrate how dramatically views of nuclear power have shifted in recent years.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has thus far refrained from taking a position on whether to keep the plant open beyond 2030, released a statement celebrating the decision.
“Today, I welcome the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's approval as we continue California's clean energy transition, creating good-paying jobs, fighting climate change and cementing the Golden State as a global powerhouse,” Newsom said.
PG&E leadership, meanwhile, was ecstatic about the signing.
“I am so excited my heart is just going to pop out of my chest,” PG&E Chief Nuclear Officer Paula Gerfen said at the event. “With all the distractions that we’ve had, the near closure of the station, then the turnaround in 2022, this team … stayed focused and ran the units safely, reliably and affordably through almost a decade of noise.”
Context: In 2016, PG&E signed an agreement with environmental and labor groups to retire Diablo Canyon by 2025, when its NRC license expired, and replace its electricity production with renewables and energy storage. At that time, global concern sparked by the 2011 leaks at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant loomed large over Diablo Canyon, as did California’s growing renewable energy generation requirements.
But in 2020, rolling blackouts exposed the vulnerabilities of the California grid, and a 2022 heat wave strained the system to the brink. That year, Newsom led a successful effort to extend Diablo Canyon to 2030 to shore up the electricity supply.
PG&E needed permission from the NRC to continue operating through 2030. But instead of applying for a five-year period, the company applied for a 20-year extension, the maximum that the NRC grants.
As the utility collected its state-level permits to extend operations during the past year, some lawmakers signaled an appetite to keep Diablo Canyon online beyond 2030. That included the influential chair of the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee, Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, who told POLITICO that the state will need Diablo Canyon to meet soaring electricity demands.
At the Thursday signing, John Grubb, interim president of the Bay Area Council, a business interest group, signaled that his organization will fight for an extension.
“The next step is securing long-term, durable support from the state of California, so that this facility can operate with certainty through 2045, and beyond,” Grubb said. “The Bay Area Council will be actively working with state leaders this year to ensure that Diablo Canyon remains part of California's energy future.”
But some legislative leaders have been hesitant to embrace an extension in light of concerns that the 2022 agreement turned out to be a bad deal for the state, especially given that taxpayers may end up footing a significant portion of the $1.4 billion loan California gave PG&E.
Multiple environmental groups are also working to stop Diablo Canyon’s march toward an extension by challenging its water permits.
Linda Seeley, vice president of San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, a nuclear-critical environmental group, said that she opposed the NRC extension due to the facility’s large price tag and safety concerns stemming from Diablo Canyon’s proximity to earthquake faults.
The NRC signoff Thursday “lands us right back with our state legislature to turn around the unwise, foolish, expensive, unneeded Diablo Canyon,” Seeley said.
Background: Meanwhile, a growing coalition of business leaders, public officials and some environmentalists across the nation are backing nuclear energy as a means to power the electricity-hungry artificial intelligence boom.
President Donald Trump has been reshaping the NRC with the goal of quadrupling nuclear power by 2050, but even some of his Democratic antagonists wish he was doing more to push the power source forward. The Diablo Canyon approval represents the 100th renewed operating license for nuclear power plants issued by the NRC, according to Groom.
What’s next: With the NRC permission in hand, PG&E now has the regulatory signoffs it needs to operate Diablo Canyon through 2030. The company’s CEO has called on the California Legislature to act this year if lawmakers want to extend its lifetime beyond then.
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