Why California Is Reconsidering Its Decision to Shun Nuclear Power

The Diablo Canyon Power Plant, which sits on a cliff on California’s Central Coast, has been the subject of ceaseless protests and political battles since it was proposed in 1963.Now, the plant is at the center of yet another major debate.After shuttering all the state’s other nuclear power plants in recent decades, California is considering extending Diablo’s life and lifting a moratorium on new reactors.That these decisions are even on the table in California is a testament to the substantial change in public views of nuclear energy, which for decades has been reviled by the liberal lawmakers and environmental groups that wield tremendous power and influence in the state.Many of its leaders, including Gov.

Gavin Newsom, have expressed support for nuclear energy.The California Legislature last month passed a bill to commission a study on partly lifting the ban on new reactors.Much of the change of heart has to do with the growing concern that California will need nuclear reactors to achieve its 2045 goal of getting 100 percent of its electricity from clean energy sources, a category that includes wind, solar, geothermal, hydropower and nuclear.State lawmakers prohibited new nuclear plants a half-century ago until the federal government found a place to permanently store the spent but still radioactive fuel removed from nuclear reactors — a goal that has not yet been achieved.

Spent fuel has long been stored at nuclear power plants.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....