There’s yet another twist in the battle over whether a nuclear power plant on the Central Coast should remain operational longer than planned.
PG&E was planning to shut down the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in 2025. Groups which had long sought the plant’s closure over environmental and safety concerns applauded the deal.
But, the state and federal governments unexpectedly moved to stop the shutdown. Officials say the state’s move to alternative energy is taking longer than expected, and that Diablo’s electricity is needed to prevent blackouts.
Now, an environmental group has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the efforts to keep the plant open. The Friends of the Earth suit claims that the federal government failed to do a proper plant safety analysis before awarding PG&E more than a billion dollars to keep the facility operating.
PG&E has long contended the four decade old facility is safe, and federal regulators have agreed with that assessment.
