Friends of the Earth concludes strong hearing over Diablo Canyon retirement

SAN FRANCISCO – Today, Friends of the Earth put forward a strong showing at its first court hearing in litigation against PG&E to prevent breach of a contract to retire Diablo Canyon, California’s last remaining nuclear power plant, when its current operating licenses expire in 2024 and 2025. 

Friends of the Earth initiated its lawsuit in April against PG&E and others to prevent breach of contract. The case comes amid PG&E reneging on the 2016 contract in response to state legislation that passed in 2022 providing financial incentives and preserving the option of operating Diablo Canyon for five additional years. Instead of planning for retirement, PG&E has stated its intentions to extend Diablo Canyon’s operations for 20 more years – far exceeding the legislation’s potential extension.

“We are very pleased with today’s hearing and feel confident in our common-sense legal arguments that aim to prevent PG&E and others from further breaching our contract,” said Hallie Templeton, Legal Director for Friends of the Earth. “This formal agreement to finally retire Diablo Canyon’s extremely dangerous and potentially devastating operations is still in force. We are optimistic that the Court will reject the defendants’ shallow attempts to dismiss our case.” 

Should the Court allow the litigation to move forward, it will help determine what rights and obligations continue to bind the parties to the 2016 contract.  Friends of the Earth is represented by attorneys at Briscoe Ivester & Bazel LLP.  The organization also has another active legal challenge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for decisions related to Diablo Canyon’s extension.  

Communications contact: Brittany Miller, [email protected], (202) 222-0746