Overview
- Nine of 12 commissioners approved the permit, requiring PG&E to permanently conserve roughly 4,000 acres around the plant to offset coastal impacts.
- State approval positions Diablo Canyon for Nuclear Regulatory Commission review, described as the penultimate step toward a potential 20-year license renewal.
- Diablo Canyon supplies nearly 10% of California’s electricity, and a commissioner cited rising power demand, including from AI, in backing the decision.
- The plant’s once-through cooling system is estimated by the commission to kill about 2 billion larval fish annually, and groups including the Environmental Defense Center and Mothers for Peace opposed the permit.
- A 2022 law extended operations five years and authorized a $1.4 billion loan, the CPUC approved $723 million in ratepayer funding this year, and reporting has flagged potential unrecovered costs and a previously near-canceled $400 million loan.