Diablo Canyon Power Plant
San Luis Obispo County, United States
The 314th largest power station in the world
The Diablo Canyon Power Plant is a nuclear power plant near Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, California. Following the permanent shutdown of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in 2013, Diablo Canyon is now the only operational nuclear plant in California, as well as the state's largest single power station. It was the subject of controversy and protests during its construction, with nearly two thousand civil disobedience arrests in a two-week period in 1981. The plant has two Westinghouse-designed 4-loop pressurized water reactors operated by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). Together, the twin 1100 MWe reactors produce about 18,000 GW·h of electricity annually (8.6% of total California generation and 23% of carbon-free generation), supplying the electrical needs of more than 3 million people. For 2026 forward, facility operations and maintenance costs are projected to be $0.03 per kWh generated, but when including new fees authorized by a recent law, that number rises to $0.08 per kWh. Intermittent sources like wind and solar cost $0.05 and $0.06 per kWh without battery storage, but $0.09 and $0.14 with battery storage. Though it was built less than a mile from the Shoreline Fault line, which was not known to exist at the time of construction, and is located less than three miles (4.8 km) from the Hosgri fault, a 2016 Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) probabilistic
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