Bid to keep California reactors running faces time squeeze
A late-hour attempt to extend the life of California’s last nuclear power plant is facing a time squeeze
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A late-hour attempt to extend the life of California’s last nuclear power plant has run into a predicament that will be difficult to resolve: a shortage of time.
A state analysis Monday predicted it will take federal regulators until late 2026 to act on an application to extend the operating run of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The problem is that the plant is scheduled to shut down permanently by mid-2025.
The future of the state’s remaining reactors could hinge on operator Pacific Gas & Electric’s request to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for an unusual exemption that would allow the decades-old reactors to continue making electricity while the NRC reviews the application – not yet filed -- to extend its licenses for as much as two decades.
One reactor is scheduled to close in November 2024, and its twin in August 2025. The plant is located on a seaside bluff, midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
