Keep California’s Last Nuclear Plant Running

A Proposal to Retrofit San Luis Obispo’s Diablo Canyon Carries Big Risks—and Big Opportunities

California can claim to be an international leader in energy.

Or California can close its last operating nuclear power plant.

But it can’t do both.

Under a 2018 agreement, Diablo Canyon Power Plant, on the San Luis Obispo County coast, is scheduled to close when its operating licenses expire in 2025. Whether it actually shuts down—a loose coalition of plant employees, heterodox environmentalists, and federal officials seeks to save it—is emerging as a major test for Californians and our stated commitments to transform ourselves in the face of a scary future.

Do we have …