Governor Gavin Newsom has been pushing to keep San Luis Obispo County's Diablo Canyon operating for an additional five years beyond its scheduled closure in 2025 as a hedge against summertime power shortages.
President Biden, meantime, has been promoting nuclear plants as a means of generating power without additional greenhouse gas emissions, Today's grant is the most visible sign of support from the administration
In a written statement, PG&E says Diablo Canyon is one of the top performing plants in the country and the company is focused on providing low-cost, carbon-free energy to the people of California.
But environmental groups, which have worked for decades to shut down nuclear power plants like Diablo Canyon, are voicing their displeasure. Friends of the Earth tweeted the grant continues a long tradition of throwing federal subsidies and bailout to this -quote- dangerous ,dying industry"—- unquote.