It won't be long before that figure is 100%. At first, that won't be for the full year, but that will happen too. And as renewables adoption tends to race ahead of predictions, it will probably happen sooner than many people expect.

Pacific Gas & Electric, which owns Diablo Canyon, quotes its operating cost as $8.4 billion for the period 2024-30. Or $1.4 billion a year. An obvious question arises. Why pay $1.4 billion a year for something you don't need? There are 400+ other nuclear plants around the world. How long before the same economic reality comes for them?

The obvious solution for PG&E and other nuclear operators might be to start courting the data center sector. At least if nuclear-powered AI ever went Skynet, it would be easy to switch it off. I think humanity would have a much better chance of taking out 400 vulnerable targets, as opposed to countless millions of solar panels decentralized around the planet.

California Grid May/Apr 2026 Renewables Curtailment Figures, Source: California Grid Operator CAISO.

Diablo Canyon Operating Costs, Source: PG&E.