PG&E to Phase Out Nuclear Power in Calif. by 2025

PG&E has announced a joint proposal with labor and leading environmental organizations that would increase investment in energy efficiency, renewables, and storage beyond current state mandates while phasing out PG&E’s production of nuclear power in California by 2025.

Underpinning the agreement is the recognition that California’s new energy policies will significantly reduce the need for Diablo Canyon’s electricity output. Among the contributing factors are the increase of the Renewable Portfolio Standard to 50 percent by 2030, doubling of energy efficiency goals under SB 350, the challenge of managing overgeneration and intermittency conditions under a resource portfolio increasingly influenced by solar and wind production, the growth rate of distributed energy resources, and the potential increases in the departure of PG&E’s retail load customers to Community Choice Aggregation.

The joint proposal would replace power from Diablo Canyon with a cost-effective, greenhouse gas (GHG)-free portfolio of energy efficiency, renewables, and energy storage. It also would replace power produced by two nuclear reactors at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) with a cost-effective, GHG-free portfolio of energy efficiency, renewables, and energy storage. It includes a PG&E commitment to a 55 percent renewable energy target in 2031.

The parties to the Joint Proposal are PG&E, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245, Coalition of California Utility Employees, Friends of the Earth, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environment California, and Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility.

PG&E Corporation Chairman, CEO and President Tony Earley noted that the “proposal recognizes the value of GHG-free nuclear power as an important bridge strategy to help ensure that power remains affordable and reliable and that we do not increase the use of fossil fuels while supporting California’s vision for the future.”

He added, “Supporting this is a coalition of labor and environmental partners with some diverse points of view. We came to this agreement with some different perspectives—and we continue to have some different perspectives—but the important thing is that we ultimately got to a shared point of view about the most appropriate and responsible path forward with respect to Diablo Canyon and how best to support the state’s energy vision.”

The joint proposal can be read in its entirety here.