The Department of Energy has awarded Pacific Gas & Electric a $271 million award to help the company keep California-based Diablo Canyon Power Plant in operation, the department said last week.
The award was granted under DOE’s Civil Nuclear Credit Program, a $6 billion investment fund to support the continued operation of the existing nuclear fleet. PG&E’s Diablo Canyon is the first recipient under the program, according to DOE’s August 14 press release.
“Keeping Diablo Canyon online is critical to meeting California’s growing demand for affordable, reliable, and secure electricity,” Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Ted Garrish said in the release. “The Civil Nuclear Credit Program is helping preserve this vital source of baseload power and ensuring that we don’t prematurely take reliable generation off the grid.”
Diablo Canyon accounts for nearly 10% of California’s electric generation, according to the DOE release. The San Luis Obispo County, Calif. nuclear plant generates around 2,200 megawatts of electricity.
Through the program, PG&E could receive up to $1.1 billion to keep Diablo Canyon operating. Diablo Canyon, which has been in a years-long contentious battle to continue its operations, received a 20-year license extension from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its two units in April.
Diablo Canyon is still in a precarious position as the power plant has received federal approval to continue operations, but has yet to receive state approval. Recently, California state officials urged Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) to support keeping the nuclear plant online.
Newsom has previously supported Diablo Canyon’s continued operations through the signing of state Senate Bill 846 that would allow for the power plant to extend its operations to 2029 and 2030. He also championed the NRC approval of the plant’s 20-year license extension.
However, Newsom said in an Aug. 7 press conference that the power plant’s state approval would be “the baton I [Newsom] will pass onto the next administration.”