SACRAMENTO, California — California’s nuclear moratorium has been a third rail of environmental politics for five decades, even though the state’s sole remaining nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon, won a last-minute reprieve from closure in 2022.
But that may be changing.
A bill introduced by Assemblymember Lisa Calderon last month, AB 2647, would allow new nuclear technologies already licensed by the federal government to operate in California despite a 1976 state law that paused new nuclear in the state until the federal government figured out how to safely dispose of nuclear fuel (it hasn’t yet).
The bill, which launched with bipartisan backing from Republican Sen. Brian Jones and Democratic Assemblymembers John Harabedian and Alex Lee, is soon adding Republican Assemblymember Juan Alanis, Democratic Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens, and Democratic Sens. Henry Stern, Lena Gonzalez and Josh Becker as co-authors, Calderon’s office said Friday. The broad support from both sides of the aisle is a sign this measure is gaining traction that previous efforts never managed to build. Labor-friendly amendments are also in the pipeline, Calderon’s office confirmed.
