Biden administration finalizes a $1.1 billion aid package for California’s last nuclear power plant

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Biden administration has finalized approval of $1.1 billion to help keep California’s last operating nuclear power plant running. The funding is a financial backbone of the plan to keep the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant producing electricity until at least 2030. An earlier agreement to close the reactors by 2025 was voided by the Legislature in 2022 at the urging of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. Newsom says the power is needed to ward off blackouts amid a changing climate. Environmentalists argue California has adequate power without the four-decade-old reactors that they call a safety risk.