California's Nuclear Energy Coming to a Close

Posted by: JackSawyer // Student

PG&E, one of California's largest energy utilities, announced on June 21st that it will be closing its last running nuclear power plant in California, the Diablo Canyon, within the next decade! This is a big win for the renewable energy transition currently taking place in California. In addition to this, PG&E plans to replace the plant with a variety of renewable energy sources to make up for the lost power when the plant closes.

This news signals the end of California's reliance on nuclear energy and the continuation of an aggressive shift to clean energy. Many external forces pushed PG&E's decision to close the plant, as doing so will take time and cost around $3.8 billion to shut down. One of the main reasons was pressure from environmental groups and the state as closing the Diablo Canyon will bring California closer to the goal of having 30% of it's energy from renewable sources by 2030. Furthermore, many voiced their concerns on the plant being safe as it sits near several earthquake fault lines.

The decision to close this plant is a great win for California and its energy goals! What do you think of the decision? Do you think California is right to get rid of all of it's nuclear power options?

Penn, Ivan, and Samantha Masunaga. "PG&E to Close Diablo Canyon, California's Last Nuclear Power Plant." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2016. Web. 26 June 2016. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-diablo-canyon-nuclear-20160621-snap-story.html>.

Nikolewski, Rob. "It'll Take Time — and $3.8 Billion — to Shut down the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2016. Web. 25 June 2016. http%3A%2F%2Fwww.latimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fla-fi-nuclear-decommissioning-20160621-snap-story.html>.