Clean Energy Protection Act

Clean Energy Protection Act

This bill sets forth provisions to enable the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California to remain in operation.

Specifically, it directs California and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to issue any permits or licenses that are necessary to enable the power plant to remain in operation.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4394 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4394

To ensure the continued operation of the Diablo Canyon power plant, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 9, 2021

  Mr. Nunes (for himself, Mr. McCarthy, Mr. Calvert, Mr. LaMalfa, Mr. 
 Garcia of California, Mr. Valadao, Mr. Obernolte, Mr. McClintock, Mr. 
Issa, Mrs. Steel, and Mrs. Kim of California) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To ensure the continued operation of the Diablo Canyon power plant, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Clean Energy Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Between 2010 and 2020, California's electricity prices 
        jumped by 39.5 percent, which was the biggest increase of any 
        State in the United States.
            (2) In 2020, electricity prices increased by 7.5 percent in 
        California, and electricity prices were the third highest in 
        the continental United States.
            (3) Higher electricity prices affect the poor the most, 
        including those who are aging, ill, and on fixed incomes.
            (4) More than 800,000 homes and businesses in California 
        lost power in August 2020.
            (5) One third of California's energy is imported from other 
        States, and such States may choose to serve their own citizens 
        first as was the case in 2020, leaving Californians in the 
        dark.
            (6) State regulators in 2013 closed the San Onofre nuclear 
        power plant that supplied electricity to 1.4 million 
        households.
            (7) Following the closure of the San Onofre nuclear power 
        plant, CO<INF>2</INF> from California-based electricity 
        greenhouse gas generation started increasing.
            (8) In 2018, former California Governor Jerry Brown issued 
        Executive Order B-55-18, mandating that California achieve 
        carbon neutrality no later than 2045.
            (9) In 2018, California regulators approved the request to 
        shut down both of Diablo Canyon's nuclear reactors, totaling 
        2,240 megawatts, when their operating licenses expire in 2024 
        and 2025. California regulators also made a commitment to 
        prevent an increase in global warming emissions due to Diablo 
        Canyon's closure, which was codified into law by the State 
        legislature in 2018.
            (10) Diablo Canyon produces about 18,000 gigawatt-hours of 
        electricity annually, which accounts for nearly 10 percent of 
        California's electric generation.
            (11) Based on the California Association of Independent 
        Operators modeling assessment of the California Public 
        Utilities Commission's 38 million metric ton greenhouse gas 
        target portfolio, the 2025 closure of Diablo Canyon power plant 
        would contribute to a significant resource deficiency totaling 
        3,493 megawatts in effective capacity in 2026.
            (12) Nuclear energy generates nearly 20 percent of the 
        electricity in the United States, providing more than 50 
        percent of the carbon-free electricity in the United States.
            (13) A report by the Brattle Group found that the nuclear 
        energy industry annually avoids more than 471 million metric 
        tons of carbon emissions, which amounts to over $24 billion in 
        annual savings.
            (14) The closure of Diablo Canyon power plant comes at the 
        very time when solar panel prices have already increased 18 
        percent this year, after years of falling prices.
            (15) California's plans to electrify vehicles could raise 
        demand for electricity by 25 percent.

SEC. 3. CONTINUED OPERATION OF DIABLO CANYON POWER PLANT.

    (a) State Permits.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
California shall issue any permits, licenses, or other authorizations 
to the owner or operator of the Diablo Canyon power plant that are 
necessary for the continued operation of the plant.
    (b) Federal Licensing.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall issue to the owner or operator 
of the Diablo Canyon power plant a license to expand the plant's 
generating capacity by 8,000 megawatts.
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