The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a 20-year license renewal for the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, extending the facility's life on the Central Coast.
PG&E had agreed with environmental and labor groups in 2016 to shut down the plant by August 2025. Environmentalists have fought for years to shut down the facility over safety and pollution concerns.
But, after a series of statewide power outages in 2022, California lawmakers approved legislation directing the company to keep the plant in operation to 2030. At the time, the Governor said that there wasn't enough solar and other green energy availability yet to ensure the power grid's reliability.
The plant generates more than 2,200 megawatts of electricity, enough to meet the power needs of about four million Californians daily.
The California Public Utilities Commission, the State Lands Commission, and the California Coastal Commission had already approved the plan to extend the plant's life.
