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NEW YORK, April 2 (Reuters) – Federal regulators approved an operating license extension for California’s last-standing nuclear power plant, allowing it to run for another 20 years if it also gets state legislative approval, the governor of the most populous U.S. state said on Thursday.
PG&E’s (PCG.N) Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant on California’s central coast was scheduled to shut in 2025, but the plant that contributes about 10% of the state’s total electricity has remained online in the face of rising demand and swelling power bills.
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“The renewed federal licenses for the plant’s two units mean Diablo Canyon will continue to provide critical 24/7 carbon-free electricity as California navigates growing electricity demand and hotter summers, while continuing investments in grid reliability and additional clean energy resources,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said.
Owners of nuclear power plants across the U.S. have applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend the life of their reactors, mostly built in the 1970s and ’80s, as electricity use reaches record highs from the proliferation of energy-intensive data centers and the electrification of buildings and transportation.
The NRC typically grants those operating license extensions in 20-year increments, but California law currently only allows Diablo Canyon to operate through 2030.
In order to run past the end of the decade, the California legislature would need to vote to allow the extension.
Overall, the California Energy Commission expects peak electricity demand to grow by more than 20 gigawatts by 2045. That is equal to the energy of nine Diablo Canyons.
The approval marks the NRC’s 100th operating license extension for the country’s power plants.
Reporting by Laila Kearney in New York; Editing by David Gregorio
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