U.S. Allocates $271 Million to Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 14, the U.S. Department of Energy disbursed $271 million in Civil Nuclear Credit funding to Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to support the continued operation of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. This is the first payment the plant has received under the U.S. Civil Nuclear Credit Program, with a total award and payment agreement of up to $1.1 billion.

This funding can be used for reactor component replacement, equipment upgrades, and nuclear fuel procurement, and may also cover unplanned expenditures arising during the plant's extended operation period. The funds constitute operational support and do not represent new installed capacity or new unit construction, nor do they constitute a re-approval of the plant's license extension.

The Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant is located in California, U.S., and is owned and operated by PG&E. It is equipped with two pressurized water reactor units with a total installed capacity of 2,240 megawatts, generating approximately 16 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, accounting for about 9% of California's total electricity generation. The two units were originally scheduled to cease commercial operation in 2024 and 2025, respectively. The U.S. Department of Energy included them in the first round of Civil Nuclear Credit support projects in November 2022, and signed a credit award and payment agreement of up to $1.1 billion with PG&E in January 2024.

The California Public Utilities Commission has approved Unit 1 to operate through October 31, 2029, and Unit 2 through October 31, 2030. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission subsequently issued 20-year renewed operating licenses for both units on April 2, 2026, extending the federal license validity periods to November 2, 2044, and August 26, 2045, respectively.

The federal license validity periods differ from the actual operating durations currently approved by the state of California. Under current California law, continued operation of the nuclear plant beyond 2030 would still require further action by the state legislature. Therefore, this $271 million funding primarily serves the current extended operation arrangement and cannot be directly construed as authorization for the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant to operate into the 2040s.

The U.S. Civil Nuclear Credit Program has a funding scale of $6 billion, primarily targeting existing commercial nuclear reactors that face a risk of premature closure due to economic factors but are capable of continued operation. Diablo Canyon was a first-round selected project under the program and is currently the only operating nuclear power plant in California.