The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on April 2 renewed the operating licenses for Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 in San Luis Obispo County, Calif.
Diablo Canyon’s Unit 1 operating license will now expire in November 2044 and Unit 2 in August 2045. PG&E filed for an NRC license renewal in 2023. That is more of an extension than the state had previously signed off on.
NRC said in a press release it issued the license renewal for the two pressurized-water reactors after receiving “documentation from PG&E of the required federal certifications under the Coastal Zone Management Act and the Clean Water Act.”
The 20-year license renewal for Diablo Canyon traveled a winding road. The operating licenses were set to expire in 2024 and 2025, respectively. But California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed state Senate Bill 846, in 2022 to help extend the plant’s license to 2029 for unit 1 and 2030 for unit 2.
Newsom praised the NRC license approval.
“When the Legislature and I partnered to extend Diablo Canyon’s operation past 2025, we made a commitment to Californians that tackling extreme weather and supporting a reliable grid are essential to building a safe, affordable, and resilient future for our state,” Newsom said in an April 2 press release. “Today, I welcome the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s approval as we continue California’s clean energy transition, creating good-paying jobs, fighting climate change, and cementing the Golden State as a global powerhouse.”
The California Coastal Commission in November 2025 as the state agency denied PG&E’s initial request to continue operation of Diablo Canyon.
However, by the next month, the California Coastal Commission approved PG&E’s request to continue Diablo Canyon’s operation through 2030 – far short of the 2040s just approved by NRC. PG&E also agreed to take substantial measures mitigating the plant’s environmental impact with the approval.
On Feb. 26, the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board approved state water quality permits for PG&E’s Diablo Canyon continued operation.
NRC said Diablo Canyon’s extension marks its 99th and 100th commercial reactor operating license renewal.