Keep Diablo Canyon open until 2045, former SLO County assemblyman urges | Opinion
As a state assemblymember from 2016 to 2022, I had the privilege of representing the district that is home to the state’s largest clean energy source — the Diablo Canyon Power Plant.
For years, I championed the nuclear power plant as an essential piece of California’s clean energy future.
That’s why I — and a two-third’s majority of the California Legislature — voted in 2022 to keep Diablo Canyon Power Plant open for five years beyond its scheduled 2025 closure.
A recent Aug. 19 state Senate committee hearing on electric reliability affirmed the wisdom of that decision. Testimony from state energy regulators and California’s grid operator made it clear that energy demand is growing. Energy regulators expect the state’s energy needs will surge through 2045.
Diablo Canyon is ready to meet those needs: It provides nearly 10% of California’s power and nearly 20% of its clean energy. Its zero-carbon energy is available 24/7/365. In short, it would be foolish to end operations in 2030.
Consider those growth forecasts:
Among data centers alone, estimates of increased demand in the next decade range from 4 gigawatts, according to the California Energy Commission, to as much as 10 gigawatts, based on PG&E’s most recent forecast update this month.
Data center growth isn’t just a California story. Across the United States, tech companies are inking nuclear energy purchases for data centers. They include Google, which has agreed to buy nuclear power from the Tennessee Valley Authority and Kairos Power; and Microsoft, which plans to buy nuclear power from Constellation Energy’s Crane Clean Energy Center in Pennsylvania.
Beyond data centers, the California Energy Commission expects the state’s total peak electricity demand to increase by 22 gigawatts by 2045. That’s equal to the output of 10 Diablo Canyons.
With numbers like these on the horizon, is it wise to shutter the state’s largest source of clean, emission-free energy?
Closing Diablo Canyon too soon would force electric utilities to sign expensive contracts for replacement power. That would cause two problems:
More reliance on fossil fuels, with less progress toward California’s climate goals.
More costly power purchases of renewables, which would be in higher demand without Diablo Canyon.
On the other hand, continuing to operate Diablo Canyon would reduce statewide electricity supply costs by as much as 4%, according to PG&E.
And then there are those tremendous clean air benefits. Forecasts show that keeping Diablo Canyon open through 2030 will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7 million metric tons annually — equal to carbon-dioxide emissions from nearly 1.6 million cars per year.
All Californians can breathe easier knowing that Diablo Canyon is standing by to serve them for years to come.
But Diablo Canyon’s operations are ensured only through 2030. State lawmakers must pass a law to allow Diablo Canyon to operate through 2045.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission took the first steps by finding in June 2025 that Diablo Canyon is a the top-performing power plant, and that it is both safe and environmentally sound to operate for another 20 years.
Other states are scrambling to build new nuclear facilities or restart shuttered ones. Meanwhile, California is ahead of the game with Diablo Canyon operating already and ready for another 20 years of service. We have an existing plant that meets the needs of more than 4 million Californians every day.
Extending Diablo Canyon beyond 2030 is an opportunity that other states should envy, and one that policymakers should embrace.
Former Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham is a practicing attorney and serves as a vice-chair of California Forward, a nonpartisan organization focusing on public policy and governance. He lives in north San Luis Obispo County.