The U.S. Department of Energy announced that the Diablo Canyon Power Plant will receive up to $1.1 billion in the first round of funding from the Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) Program. Units 1 and 2 of the plant were scheduled to be decommissioned in 2024 and in 2025. The final terms of the grant will be negotiated, but the funds will be distributed from 2023 through 2026. While not assuring continued operation of the plant, the funds create “a path forward for Diablo Canyon to remain open.”
In September, Governor Newsom signed into law SB 846, which extended the life of the 2,250 MW Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant’s two units by five years to 2029 and 2030. The legislation also authorized a forgivable $1.4 billion loan for plant owner Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). The law also required the Diablo Canyon plant to secure funds from the U.S. Department of Energy or other federal sources to pay back the loan. (See California Keeps Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant Open.)
To obtain the loan, the plant was required to qualify for the U.S. Department of Energy’s $6 billion CNC program by March 1, 2023. The CNC program, which is funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, was implemented to support the continued operations of nuclear energy facilities. PG&E applied for the funds on October 31, 2022.