Diablo Canyon Closure a Victory for California’s Renewable Future
The tides have turned against nuclear power. Diablo Canyon — California’s last working nuclear power plant — will be retired once its current operating licenses expire in 2024 and 2025. This mirrors closures and expected closures in Illinois, Nebraska, and New York pro-nuclear industry advocates are fighting a losing battle. Diablo Canyon’s closure is a remarkable victory that signals the importance of cleaner, renewable sources of energy to California’s future.
Pro-nuclear advocates were always facing a tough reality. Safety aside, the costs of licensing, maintaining, and running a nuclear power plant and properly disposing the waste are now impossible to manage from a cost perspective. Companies including Exelon and PG&E are simultaneously closing nuclear power plants and massively ramping up investments in cleaner, more renewable sources of energy — especially solar and wind. Ending the liability burden of nuclear power and building out solar and wind positions the U.S. to lead the global clean energy race.
In recent months, Diablo Canyon, located in San Luis Obispo County, had become a lightning rod for debate about California’s energy future. Some questioned what would happen to plant employees and greenhouse gas emissions if the plant were to shut down. However, a joint proposal by PG&E, IBEW Local 1245 and various environmental groups should lay these concerns to rest. First, it should be noted that Diablo Canyon will be operated until the end of its current NRC licenses, meaning there is an eight to nine-year period to transition in an orderly fashion. This means workers have a great deal of time to plan for their futures, a consideration that is bolstered by a retraining and development program.
Furthermore, under this proposal, the power from Diablo Canyon has a chance to be replaced with a greenhouse gas-free mix of energy efficiency, renewables, and energy storage. This fits in with California’s ambitious energy goals, like generating 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 — a goal that was acknowledged by PG&E as being a motivating reality. Additionally, energy efficiency and the spread of public power projects mean that PG&E will need to generate or buy less electricity. Diablo Canyon is ill-suited to the renewable energy future. But, the proposal is contingent on certain regulatory actions, including approvals by the CPUC and the State Lands Commission. Officials should stay the course, and make sure this proposal is realized.
Renewable resources like solar and wind are clearly central to America’s 21st century energy future. Nuclear power is part of the 20th century past. Ongoing advancements in solar, wind, and battery technologies and falling prices are rapidly accelerating the spread of renewables. Spending time and resources on 20th century nuclear power plants is folly. Focusing efforts on a cleaner, renewable energy future is a triple win: for the environment, the economy and public health. It is a tremendous credit to all of those involved in the Diablo Canyon proposal that they acknowledged this reality.
