24 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY february 9-15, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com Oct. 9, 1957: The small, 30-megawatt Vallecitos Nuclear Power Plant near Pleasanton becomes the first privately funded nuclear plant to supply the electric grid. It operated for one decade. February 1963: PG&E announces plans to construct five nuclear reactors at the Nipomo Dunes in southern San Luis Obispo County, and is immediately met with protests. Later in the year, company representatives meet with the Sierra Club to discuss an alternate site. In 1965, Diablo Canyon becomes PG&E’s alternate proposed site. PG&E begins the application process to the federal Atomic Energy Commission (now the Nuclear Regulatory Commission) and California Public Utilities Commission. August 1963: The nation’s seventh nuclear power plant—the 63-megawatt Humboldt Bay Nuclear Power Plant, owned by PG&E—begins operating. 1967: The small Vallecitos plant, owned by General Electric, closes. 1968: The Atomic Energy Commission approves permits for PG&E to build Unit 1 of Diablo Canyon; in 1970, Unit 2 is approved. Construction on Unit 1 begins in July of 1968. 1968: The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in Southern California begins operations. It is majority owned by Southern California Edison. 1975: The Rancho Seco Nuclear Power Plant, located about 25 miles south of Sacramento, begins operations. 1976: The state of California placed a moratorium on the construction and licensing of new nuclear fission reactors. 1976: The Humboldt power plant ceases operations for seismic upgrades. 1983: PG&E announces plans to permanently shutter the Humboldt Bay nuclear plant, because the economics of a required seismic retrofit could not be justified. It is listed as permanently inactive in 1988. 1984: After 14 years of hearings, protests and litigation, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission grants PG&E licenses for Unit 1 and Unit 2 at Diablo Canyon. May 7, 1985: Unit 1 at Diablo Canyon begins operations. March 13, 1987: Unit 2 at Diablo Canyon begins operations. 1988: The Diablo Canyon Independent Safety Committee is established as part of a settlement agreement between the Office of Ratepayer Advocates, PG&E, California Public Utilities Commission and California Attorney General. 1989: The Rancho Seco Nuclear Power Plant near Sacramento ceases operations. It closed due to a public referendum. 2012: Unit 2 of the San Onofre plant shuts down for routine refueling and replacement of the reactor vessel head. Unit 3 suffers a radioactive leak and shuts down. An investigation shows premature wear. In March 2012, the NRC forbids the plant from reopening until the causes of its equipment problems are thoroughly understood and fixed. 2013: Southern California Edison announces the San Onofre plant will cease operations, leaving Diablo Canyon as the state’s only remaining nuclear power plant. June 21, 2016: PG&E announces plans to close the two Diablo Canyon reactors in 2024 and 2025, when licenses for each are set to expire. 2018: The California Public Utilities Commission approves Diablo’s plan to take the plant offline; PG&E withdraws its application to the NRC for a licensing extension. 2018: Senate Bill 1090 is signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown. The law authorizes up to $352.1 million for employee retention programs to mitigate impacts to the plant’s roughly 1,500-person workforce, and also $85 million for community impact mitigation programs. 2020-21: PG&E begins a decommissioning public outreach project that includes soliciting public comments on what to do with the Diablo Canyon facilities and lands after operations cease. Sept. 2, 2022: After last-minute negotiations in the state legislature, Gov. Gavin Newsom signs Senate Bill 846 into law, extending the operating timeline of Diablo Canyon by five years, to 2030. The bill also calls for the allocation of $160 million toward the development of Land Conservation and Economic Development Plan, to be produced by the state Natural Resources Agency. Feb. 10, 2023: The California Natural Resources Agency, Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), California State Lands Commission, California Public Utilities Commission, California Coastal Commission and the State Water Resources Control Board invite the public to a listening session related to their SB 846-mandated development of plans for conservation and economic development and repurposing of the Diablo Canyon facility. (The meeting takes place from 9am-3:30pm at the San Luis Obispo county government building, and online. For a link to participate, visit diablocanyonpanel.org.) March 1, 2023: Deadline for the California Energy Commission to submit a Clean Energy Reliability Investment Plan to the state legislature with ideas for how to accelerate the development of clean, reliable energy sources. 2025: The year in which PG&E now expects to begin the decommissioning process at Diablo Canyon, which is expected to take 10 years. Sources: Diablo Canyon Decommissioning Engagement Panel, California Energy Commission, PG&E. Nuke It A short history of nuclear power in California, and the Diablo Canyon power plant. By Sara Rubin The Diablo Canyon Power Plant occupies about 12 acres of a 700-acre coastal property. Conservation and economic development are part of what is next in the decommissioning planning, as laid out in Senate Bill 846, signed into law in 2022. “There is no need to keep Diablo Canyon open.” Courtesy of PG&E Courtesy of PG&E
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