The fate of Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E’s) Diablo Canyon Power Plant is expected to be decided by year-end, with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) set to hear final arguments about the plant’s future on November 28.

The 2.2-GW nuclear plant has operated near Avila Beach, California, since 1985. A judge in early November supported PG&E’s plan to retire the plant’s two Westinghouse-designed 4-loop pressurized-water reactors when their federal operating licenses expire in 2024 and 2025.

PG&E has said several factors entered into its decision to shutter the plant, which is the last operating nuclear facility in California. On its website, the utility says, “California’s energy landscape is changing dramatically. State policies that focus on renewables and energy efficiency, coupled with projected lower customer electricity demand in the future, will result in a significant reduction in the need for electricity produced by Diablo Canyon Power Plant past 2025.”

Proponents of keeping the plant in operation argue it was built to last a century.…

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