PG&E to close Diablo Canyon, California’s last nuclear power plant

PG&E announced that it will phase out by 2025 Diablo Canyon, the last operational nuclear power plant in California, and replace its power with renewables and efficiency.

As part of the closure plan, PG&E will phase out power production at Diablo Canyon by 2025 and phase in renewable energy to fill the resulting need for energy.  While widely hailed as a “blueprint” for the closure of nuclear power plants across the country, we must still be mindful that Diablo Canyon, located near several active earthquake fault lines, will continue to pose a danger until it ceases operation.

This serves as further evidence that nuclear power is no longer needed.  Indeed, the closure comes as many nuclear plant operators struggle to keep their operating costs under control–a problem that recently contributed to the demise of the second-to-last nuclear power plant in California, San Onofre.

Peter Bradford, a former member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission summed up today’s news by telling the Los Angeles Times, “It’s a very tough day for people who have been advocating for massive nuclear subsidies.”