US power group Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has decided to phase out nuclear power generation in California (United States) by 2025, i.e. retiring its 2,300 MW Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant by this date.
The plant consists of two reactors rated 1,120 MW net and commissioned in 1985 and 1986, respectively. PG&E intends to operate Diablo Canyon to the end of its current NRC operating licenses, which expires on 2 November 2024 and 26 August 2025 (Unit 2). This eight- to nine-year transition period will provide the time to begin the process to plan and replace Diablo Canyon's energy with new GHG-free replacement resources.
PG&E plans to increase investment in energy efficiency, renewables and storage beyond current state mandates. Power generation from Diablo Canyon will become less necessary in California, due to the increase of the Renewable Portfolio Standard to 50% by 2030, the 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. In addition, PG&E aims to reach a 55% renewable energy target by 2031.
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