California Lawmakers Vote to Save State''s Last Nuclear Plant
The Diablo Canyon plant. Photo: AFP PHOTO|Mark Ralston (Getty Images) California’s largest single source of electricity has lived to see another day. In a surprisingly overwhelming vote, the California Senate early on Thursday morning moved to extend the life of Diablo Canyon, the state’s last remaining nuclear power plant and a major source of carbon-free electricity. The vote was on a bill proposed by Governor Gavin Newsom this month and introduced to the Legislature just a few days ago. The legislation will extend Diablo Canyon’s planned retirement date by five years, mandating its closure by 2030, and gives some state agencies loopholes around certain environmental laws to allow the plant to stay open. The bill frees up $1.4 billion in loans to the plant’s owners, Pacific Gas Electric, to help the plant stay open, and also allows PGE to submit an application for federal funding that closes this month. (Officials say that the federal government should be able to foot the cost for most of the $1.4 billion loan.) The plant still needs to apply to the federal U.S.
California Lawmakers Vote to Save State''s Last Nuclear Plant
The Diablo Canyon plant. Photo: AFP PHOTO|Mark Ralston (Getty Images) California’s largest single source of electricity has lived to see another day. In a surprisingly overwhelming vote, the California Senate early on Thursday morning moved to extend the life of Diablo Canyon, the state’s last remaining nuclear power plant and a major source of carbon-free electricity. The vote was on a bill proposed by Governor Gavin Newsom this month and introduced to the Legislature just a few days ago. The legislation will extend Diablo Canyon’s planned retirement date by five years, mandating its closure by 2030, and gives some state agencies loopholes around certain environmental laws to allow the plant to stay open. The bill frees up $1.4 billion in loans to the plant’s owners, Pacific Gas Electric, to help the plant stay open, and also allows PGE to submit an application for federal funding that closes this month. (Officials say that the federal government should be able to foot the cost for most of the $1.4 billion loan.) The plant still needs to apply to the federal U.S.