PG&E gets go-ahead to spend $2.5 million on Diablo Canyon decommissioning report
PG&E got the go-ahead Tuesday to spend nearly $2.5 million on an environmental impact report on decommissioning California’s last nuclear power plant.
The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted on Tuesday to allow the utility company to set aside more money for the report, which is expected to analyze how shutting down Diablo Canyon Power Plant could affect the environment.
PG&E has been on dual paths since September.
One would see the utility company decommission the 2,200-megawatt nuclear power plant just north of Avila Beach after the licenses for its twin reactors expire in 2024 and 2025.
The other path sees PG&E renewing its licenses for the nuclear reactors.
In September, the California State Legislature passed Senate Bill 846, which allocated $1.4 billion to PG&E to allow Diablo Canyon to stay open through 2030. That was followed in November by a $1.1 billion conditional grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to help with continued operations.
In March, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission told PG&E it could continue operating Diablo Canyon past 2024 and 2025 as long as it submits a valid license renewal application by the end of this year.
That decision has since been challenged in federal and state court.
How would decommissioning Diablo Canyon impact environment?
The decommissioning environmental impact report has been in the works long before SB 846 was signed.
In 2021, San Luis Obispo County and PG&E signed a special services consulting contract with Aspen Environmental Group, Inc. to prepare an environmental impact report on decommissioning the power plant.
PG&E, at the time, agreed to pay the environmental consultant up to $1.6 million for its work, according to the staff report.
In April 2022, the county increased the contract to $2 million due to greater expenses than expected for staff time and analysis of land use and air quality.
In October 2022, Aspen produced its first draft of the environmental impact report.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Aspen asked PG&E for another $407,378 to complete the report. The report must be completed just in case the Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not allow Diablo Canyon to stay open.
Of those funds, $214,012 will be used to print hard copies of the draft and final report, along with staff costs for attending meetings and study sessions, the staff report said. The other $193,366 is the project’s 20% contingency fee.
This brings the cost of the report to around $2.5 million, which PG&E will pay for.
The supervisors’ vote on Tuesday modified the existing contract with Aspen to allow for the increase in spending from PG&E.
The county expects the planning commission to hold study sessions on the draft in September. The final report should be completed by July 13, 2024, according to the staff report.
This story was originally published July 12, 2023 at 8:00 AM.
