- PG&E’s (PCG -0.4%) plan to shut California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant by 2025 would cost $15B if all its output is replaced with solar-generated electricity at current prices, according to a Bloomberg analysis.
- Actual costs could be lower because PG&E expects to compensate for lower demand and replace only part of the production, but the multibillion-dollar estimate underscores the costs that utilities and consumers face across the U.S. as power generated by cheaper plants overwhelms nuclear replacement costs.
- Diablo Canyon’s two reactors account for 20% of annual power production in PG&E’s territory; based on current prices and generating capacity for solar power, the company would need 10,500 MW of new solar installations to replace all of Diablo Canyon’s output, Bloomberg calculates.
- The report notes that gas power plants likely would be needed for backup when wind and solar plants are not available, and greater use of natural gas may make California’s goal to get half the state's power from carbon-free sources by 2030 more challenging to meet.