Opps. It looks like windmills aren’t cutting it for supplying California residents the power that they need. The plan was to get rid of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant plant by 2025 and convert the state to renewable energy only. That doesn’t look like such a good idea since California can’t keep the lights on without it. Now governor Newsom is begging the Biden Energy Department for government aid to keep it open.
This is from Bloomberg: California Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed reforms from the US Department of Energy that will make it possible for the state’s final nuclear power facility to be eligible for federal funding.
A requirement that would have prevented PG&E Corp.’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant from receiving a portion of the $6 billion in funds the Biden Administration is making available to save reactors at risk of shutting down early because they are losing money was proposed to be removed by the Energy Department. The Energy Department published the proposed modification on its website and requested feedback from the general public by June 27.
Because of anticipated electrical shortages that could create blackouts in the state, Newsom is rethinking a state plan to retire Diablo Canyon in 2025.
If the plant is eligible for government financial aid, the campaign to keep Diablo Canyon operational will gain pace. The prospective turnaround of California’s anti-nuclear power stance highlights the state’s grid decarbonization issue.
Newsom requested last month that the Energy Department change its requirements for nuclear funding so that Diablo Canyon would qualify. The federal program was initially intended to assist nuclear reactors that were experiencing financial difficulty in competitive wholesale electricity markets, which Diablo Canyon did not.
The Energy Department proposed removing the restriction that a nuclear reactor seeking funding not defray more than 50% of its expenses through regulated rates or contracts. By adding fees to its customers’ bills, PG&E is able to recoup the expenditures of its Diablo Canyon facility.
By Mark Chediak of Bloomberg News, Rephrased by InfoArmed