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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>California is transitioning to clean energy. KQED is reporting on what that means for you. What works? What doesn’t? How much does it cost? Help us find these answers and more by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://donate.kqed.org/sojo?ms=W2510EANXXXX22\">\u003cem>donating today\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most striking view off one of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080669/should-california-keep-its-last-nuclear-power-plant-running\">San Luis Obispo County\u003c/a>’s winding coastal roads is not the lashing ocean waves of the Pacific Ocean or cows plodding out from the shade of a California live oak tree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is two enormous concrete domes that come into focus along a final climb that began 7 miles back at Avila Beach. The land sinks away, and what looks like a small town emerges, showcased in a palette of grays, whites and terracotta.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is Diablo Canyon, California’s last operating nuclear power plant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just years ago, the plant was slated to close, and employees worked to decommission it, until a \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB846\">2022\u003c/a> about-face by Gov. Gavin Newsom led the state to extend its operations to 2030. Now lawmakers in Sacramento are talking about allowing it to operate even longer, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000605/the-debate-for-keeping-diablo-canyon-open-past-2030-is-on-what-could-it-mean-for-your-bills\">potentially to 2045\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But local groups, some of whom have protested the plant \u003ca href=\"https://www.foundsf.org/The_Diablo_Canyon_Blockade_1981\">since its construction\u003c/a>, are banging the drum ever louder about their concerns for \u003ca href=\"https://mothersforpeace.org/2025-reports-on-the-health-impacts-of-living-near-diablo-canyon-nuclear-plant/\">safety\u003c/a> or a catastrophic \u003ca href=\"https://mothersforpeace.org/campaign-to-stop-diablo/\">meltdown\u003c/a>, as well as the danger posed by spent nuclear waste at a site near several seismic faultlines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_790877\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1910px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-790877\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/06/Diablo-Canyon-Panorama-e1466523869791.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1910\" height=\"1271\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/06/Diablo-Canyon-Panorama-e1466523869791.jpg 1910w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/06/Diablo-Canyon-Panorama-e1466523869791-400x266.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/06/Diablo-Canyon-Panorama-e1466523869791-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/06/Diablo-Canyon-Panorama-e1466523869791-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/06/Diablo-Canyon-Panorama-e1466523869791-1440x958.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/06/Diablo-Canyon-Panorama-e1466523869791-1180x785.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/06/Diablo-Canyon-Panorama-e1466523869791-960x639.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1910px) 100vw, 1910px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aerial view of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, which sits on the edge of the Pacific Ocean at Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of PG&E)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, academics are furiously analyzing how much keeping Diablo Canyon open would \u003ca href=\"https://ceepr.mit.edu/workingpaper/the-economics-of-continued-operation-of-the-diablo-canyon-nuclear-power-plant-2030-2045/\">cost\u003c/a> and if it would support or hinder the state’s clean energy transition. And business groups are lining up in \u003ca href=\"https://diablocanyon2045.com/\">support\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So when PG&E offered press tours earlier this year, KQED accepted. The nuclear power plant has not garnered this much attention in years, but now, once again, all eyes are on Diablo Canyon. What does it look like inside?\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Out on the water\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant tour started on a boat in a protected marina just south of the reactors. This, and another cove just outside the breakwaters, are the site of a key piece of the plant’s cooling system — and a major concern for environmentalists, who argue it hoovers up and kills marine life and have \u003ca href=\"https://theotterproject.org/blog/diablo-canyon-power-plants-marine-life-destruction-will-continue-without-intervention\">called it\u003c/a> “the most destructive facility” along California’s coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dipping a hand in Diablo Cove, the water is lukewarm, not the frosty standard for the ocean in these parts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000152\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000152\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-25-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-25-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-25-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-25-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-25-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tom Jones, a regulatory and environmental senior director at PG&E, pilots a boat near the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 13, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That’s because Diablo Canyon draws 2 billion-2.5 billion gallons of ocean water daily — enough to fill more than 3,000 Olympic-size swimming pools — into the plant to cool equipment, and discharges the water back into the ocean typically 16 to 17 degrees hotter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The warmer water makes it feel as if a chunk of Southern California’s coast has been lobbed off and transferred north.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Out on the water, there was a hotbed of animal activity: a floating sea otter and chubby seals sunning themselves on rocks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000844\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000844\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-23-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-23-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-23-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-23-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-23-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 13, 2026, the state’s only active nuclear power plant. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There were other species too — sea bass, stingrays, and California’s state fish, the garibaldi, which typically live farther south along California’s coast, but have moved here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diablo Canyon staff said the warm water leads to essentially no change to the environment. Because fishing and other activities are not allowed within 2,000 yards of the plant, it’s a “de facto marine sanctuary,” said Tom Jones, a senior director in charge of future planning for Diablo Canyon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the California Coastal Commission, the state agency tasked with protecting the coastline and its natural resources, reported in 2025 that the plant’s cooling system kills almost two billion larval fish annually, plus other organisms that aren’t measured.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000151\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000151\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-17-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-17-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-17-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-17-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-17-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lion Rock, home to hundreds of California sea lions, harbor seals, and seabirds, near the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo, on Feb. 13, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While adult populations may be abundant in Diablo Cove, the commission wrote that adults often appear far from where they spawn, and their presence here may be the result of productive marine habitats nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The commission also warned that removing eggs and larvae near Diablo Canyon leads to “a significant reduction” of species dozens of miles from the plant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These planktonic organisms,” wrote the commission, “constitute the base of the food web in California’s coastal waters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>To the turbine deck\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>We donned hard hats and safety equipment and passed through heavy security to enter the “protected area,” which consists of spaces closer to the nuclear reactors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We entered the turbine deck, an industrial building the size of two-and-a-half football fields. It was hot and loud on the deck, with a slight vibration underfoot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000153\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000153\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-35-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-35-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-35-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-35-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-35-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The turbine deck at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 13, 2026, the state’s only active nuclear power plant. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The steam-driven turbine inside is an enormous semi-cylinder that looks like a horizontal steel pipe cut in half, and spins a generator to produce electricity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The PG&E guide pointed out the window at a containment dome, where uranium atoms are split apart, releasing huge amounts of heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000154\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000154\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-40-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-40-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-40-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-40-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-40-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of a reactor containment building from the turbine building at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 13, 2026, the state’s only active nuclear power plant. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A cascade of effects follows: the heat warms water and creates steam, the steam travels through pipes to turn the turbine, the turbine connects to a generator, which makes electricity that’s then sent across the grid and delivered to about three million Californians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nuclear generates nearly\u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/california-electricity-data/2024-total-system-electric-generation\"> 9%\u003c/a> of the state’s energy supply, part of an energy mix that includes gas, hydroelectric, solar, wind, geothermal and even small amounts of coal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000854\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1172px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000854\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/PGE-Graphic.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1172\" height=\"727\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/PGE-Graphic.jpg 1172w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/PGE-Graphic-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/PGE-Graphic-768x476.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1172px) 100vw, 1172px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Power generation at Diablo Canyon. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of PG&E)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While California’s demand for electricity has been flat for years, it’s now growing with the adoption of electric vehicles, people swapping gas appliances for electric ones, and data centers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The debate to keep Diablo Canyon open is spurred, in part, by this uptick in demand. Maureen Zawalick, senior vice president and chief risk officer at PG&E, said stepping into the turbine deck reminds her of the end uses of all this power: “safety in hospitals, kidney dialysis, stop lights and everything else.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is walking its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000695/california-is-transitioning-from-fossil-fuels-to-electric-power-its-going-to-get-messy\">economy across a tightrope.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s growth in the 20th century was built on a foundation of fossil fuels, but leaders see its future as being powered by the buildout of renewables like solar and wind, along with batteries to store excess power.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When heat waves strained California’s power grid and caused rolling blackouts in 2020, state lawmakers and Newsom voted to extend Diablo Canyon’s operation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, as electricity bills continue to rise and demand is forecast to grow, proponents argue that keeping the plant open even longer can help California wobble across the precarious middle of the tightrope.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The simulator\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>We shed our safety gear and headed to the training building, with classrooms and an exact replica of the control room, called the simulator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was cool and quiet again as employees completed a training exercise, manipulating switches, lights and screens on a semicircle of vertical boards. Zawalick said the simulator’s seafoam green walls are meant to inspire calm, but its very existence is due to nuclear disasters that have occurred elsewhere in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000156\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000156\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-52-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-52-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-52-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-52-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-52-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A training facility at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 13, 2026, the state’s only active nuclear power plant. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Simulators became a requirement for all nuclear power plants in 1979 after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania. The partial meltdown was the most serious nuclear accident in U.S. history and was caused by both human and equipment failure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Practicing in a replica of Diablo Canyon’s actual control room is meant to train workers with the muscle memory to handle a variety of emergencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Employees spend 20% of their time in the Diablo Canyon simulator training for everything from planned refueling to routine maintenance to \u003ca href=\"https://www.dcisc.org/download/library/annual-reports/35th-annual-report-93.pdf\">major emergencies\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Spent nuclear fuel\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To finish the tour, we drove uphill and farther from the ocean to find dozens of hulking concrete cylinders that contain spent fuel, called “dry casks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The nuclear material is the concern of resident groups who fear an earthquake or terrorist attack could destabilize the storage and spew radioactive waste into the ocean or nearby communities. People living nearby are mailed annual emergency \u003ca href=\"https://www.prepareslo.org/en/emergency-planning-zone-information.aspx\">preparedness\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.pge.com/assets/pge/docs/about/pge-systems/emergency-planning-brochure.pdf\">documents\u003c/a> and have access to a free dose of \u003ca href=\"https://www.prepareslo.org/en/potassium-iodide-information.aspx\">potassium iodide\u003c/a>, which protects the thyroid gland against radiation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000848\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000848\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-60-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-60-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-60-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-60-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-60-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Spent nuclear fuel in dry storage behind a raw water reservoir with desalinated ocean water at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 13, 2026, the state’s only active nuclear power plant. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Linda Seeley has rallied against Diablo Canyon for decades as a member of the anti-nuclear nonprofit Mothers for Peace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As much as I would love it if nuclear waste were not toxic and lethal to a thousand generations in the future, that’s not the fact. The fact is that it is toxic,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once fuel has been used inside the plant, radiation levels are dangerously high and have the potential to kill an exposed person \u003ca href=\"https://diablocanyonpanel.org/decom-topics/spent-fuel-management/\">in minutes\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000157\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000157\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-59-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-59-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-59-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-59-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-59-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A raw water reservoir with desalinated ocean water at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 13, 2026, the state’s only active nuclear power plant. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The spent fuel spends 7 to 10 years next to the reactors in “wet storage,” a large pool of water treated with chemicals. The liquid absorbs heat and decays of the uranium, which has high levels of radiation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The nuclear material is then packed into the double-lined, stainless steel and reinforced dry casks, roughly 20 feet tall. Each is bolted to a 7.5-foot-thick, steel-reinforced concrete pad designed to withstand earthquakes. The fuel requires special handling for \u003ca href=\"https://diablocanyonpanel.org/decom-topics/spent-fuel-management/\">tens of thousands of years\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diablo Canyon is located roughly 3.5 miles from the Hosgri fault, which presents the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ml1633/ML16334A406.pdf\">main seismic risk\u003c/a> to the plant. Another fault, the Shoreline, is closer to the plant, but smaller. Some seismologists are concerned that a quake along the faults could cause a \u003ca href=\"https://mothersforpeace.org/may-15-2025-top-seismologist-urges-immediate-shutdown-of-diablo-canyon-nuclear-reactor-citing-unacceptable-risk-of-an-earthquake-triggered-meltdown/\">meltdown\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. government is legally \u003ca href=\"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-10/chapter-III/part-961\">obligated\u003c/a> to take ownership of all commercially spent nuclear fuel, but because the government has not yet built a permanent place to put it, the fuel is stored at the power plant.[aside postID=science_2000695 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-08-KQED-1020x680.jpg']Current solutions like Diablo Canyon’s dry storage casks, while they may be thorough, are only licensed until 2064 by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zawalick said PG&E is confident in the storage of Diablo Canyon’s spent fuel, though. She pointed out that nuclear power is “the only energy source that knows exactly where every ounce of our waste is.” The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and PG&E monitor the spent fuel on a \u003ca href=\"https://diablocanyonpanel.org/decom-topics/spent-fuel-management/\">daily\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/oversight\">annual basis\u003c/a>. “It’s secured, it’s inspected, it’s audited, it’s sampled. I’m a fan of all energy sources, but I don’t know where solar panels are sent when they’re done, and batteries, and all of that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zawalick pointed to the powerful transmission lines carrying energy created here out to millions of Californians: to illuminate rooms for special and mundane occasions, preserve food in refrigerators, run air conditioners, and warm their shower water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Order and safety come up frequently on the Diablo Canyon Power Plant tour: background checks, armed guards, seismic protective measures, reminders to hold on to handrails when on steps. The result is a calm and kempt environment, situated on a hillside overlooking the Pacific.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But underneath the serenity lie the inherent risks of nuclear power, especially when sited near seismic faultlines. Diablo Canyon has been the source of passionate debate as long as the idea of it has existed. And any effort to keep it operating longer will be no different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And with that, the tour was over, and the guides returned to their work. A cow made its way slowly across the access road, with no idea of its contentious neighbor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "All eyes are turned to Diablo Canyon Power Plant as the debate about extending its life returns to Sacramento. But what’s it like inside?",
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"title": "A Rare Look Inside California’s Last Nuclear Power Plant | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>California is transitioning to clean energy. KQED is reporting on what that means for you. What works? What doesn’t? How much does it cost? Help us find these answers and more by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://donate.kqed.org/sojo?ms=W2510EANXXXX22\">\u003cem>donating today\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most striking view off one of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080669/should-california-keep-its-last-nuclear-power-plant-running\">San Luis Obispo County\u003c/a>’s winding coastal roads is not the lashing ocean waves of the Pacific Ocean or cows plodding out from the shade of a California live oak tree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is two enormous concrete domes that come into focus along a final climb that began 7 miles back at Avila Beach. The land sinks away, and what looks like a small town emerges, showcased in a palette of grays, whites and terracotta.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is Diablo Canyon, California’s last operating nuclear power plant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just years ago, the plant was slated to close, and employees worked to decommission it, until a \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB846\">2022\u003c/a> about-face by Gov. Gavin Newsom led the state to extend its operations to 2030. Now lawmakers in Sacramento are talking about allowing it to operate even longer, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000605/the-debate-for-keeping-diablo-canyon-open-past-2030-is-on-what-could-it-mean-for-your-bills\">potentially to 2045\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But local groups, some of whom have protested the plant \u003ca href=\"https://www.foundsf.org/The_Diablo_Canyon_Blockade_1981\">since its construction\u003c/a>, are banging the drum ever louder about their concerns for \u003ca href=\"https://mothersforpeace.org/2025-reports-on-the-health-impacts-of-living-near-diablo-canyon-nuclear-plant/\">safety\u003c/a> or a catastrophic \u003ca href=\"https://mothersforpeace.org/campaign-to-stop-diablo/\">meltdown\u003c/a>, as well as the danger posed by spent nuclear waste at a site near several seismic faultlines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_790877\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1910px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-790877\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/06/Diablo-Canyon-Panorama-e1466523869791.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1910\" height=\"1271\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/06/Diablo-Canyon-Panorama-e1466523869791.jpg 1910w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/06/Diablo-Canyon-Panorama-e1466523869791-400x266.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/06/Diablo-Canyon-Panorama-e1466523869791-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/06/Diablo-Canyon-Panorama-e1466523869791-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/06/Diablo-Canyon-Panorama-e1466523869791-1440x958.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/06/Diablo-Canyon-Panorama-e1466523869791-1180x785.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/06/Diablo-Canyon-Panorama-e1466523869791-960x639.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1910px) 100vw, 1910px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aerial view of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, which sits on the edge of the Pacific Ocean at Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of PG&E)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, academics are furiously analyzing how much keeping Diablo Canyon open would \u003ca href=\"https://ceepr.mit.edu/workingpaper/the-economics-of-continued-operation-of-the-diablo-canyon-nuclear-power-plant-2030-2045/\">cost\u003c/a> and if it would support or hinder the state’s clean energy transition. And business groups are lining up in \u003ca href=\"https://diablocanyon2045.com/\">support\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So when PG&E offered press tours earlier this year, KQED accepted. The nuclear power plant has not garnered this much attention in years, but now, once again, all eyes are on Diablo Canyon. What does it look like inside?\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Out on the water\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant tour started on a boat in a protected marina just south of the reactors. This, and another cove just outside the breakwaters, are the site of a key piece of the plant’s cooling system — and a major concern for environmentalists, who argue it hoovers up and kills marine life and have \u003ca href=\"https://theotterproject.org/blog/diablo-canyon-power-plants-marine-life-destruction-will-continue-without-intervention\">called it\u003c/a> “the most destructive facility” along California’s coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dipping a hand in Diablo Cove, the water is lukewarm, not the frosty standard for the ocean in these parts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000152\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000152\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-25-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-25-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-25-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-25-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-25-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tom Jones, a regulatory and environmental senior director at PG&E, pilots a boat near the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 13, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That’s because Diablo Canyon draws 2 billion-2.5 billion gallons of ocean water daily — enough to fill more than 3,000 Olympic-size swimming pools — into the plant to cool equipment, and discharges the water back into the ocean typically 16 to 17 degrees hotter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The warmer water makes it feel as if a chunk of Southern California’s coast has been lobbed off and transferred north.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Out on the water, there was a hotbed of animal activity: a floating sea otter and chubby seals sunning themselves on rocks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000844\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000844\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-23-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-23-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-23-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-23-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-23-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 13, 2026, the state’s only active nuclear power plant. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There were other species too — sea bass, stingrays, and California’s state fish, the garibaldi, which typically live farther south along California’s coast, but have moved here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diablo Canyon staff said the warm water leads to essentially no change to the environment. Because fishing and other activities are not allowed within 2,000 yards of the plant, it’s a “de facto marine sanctuary,” said Tom Jones, a senior director in charge of future planning for Diablo Canyon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the California Coastal Commission, the state agency tasked with protecting the coastline and its natural resources, reported in 2025 that the plant’s cooling system kills almost two billion larval fish annually, plus other organisms that aren’t measured.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000151\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000151\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-17-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-17-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-17-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-17-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-17-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lion Rock, home to hundreds of California sea lions, harbor seals, and seabirds, near the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo, on Feb. 13, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While adult populations may be abundant in Diablo Cove, the commission wrote that adults often appear far from where they spawn, and their presence here may be the result of productive marine habitats nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The commission also warned that removing eggs and larvae near Diablo Canyon leads to “a significant reduction” of species dozens of miles from the plant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These planktonic organisms,” wrote the commission, “constitute the base of the food web in California’s coastal waters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>To the turbine deck\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>We donned hard hats and safety equipment and passed through heavy security to enter the “protected area,” which consists of spaces closer to the nuclear reactors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We entered the turbine deck, an industrial building the size of two-and-a-half football fields. It was hot and loud on the deck, with a slight vibration underfoot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000153\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000153\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-35-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-35-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-35-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-35-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-35-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The turbine deck at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 13, 2026, the state’s only active nuclear power plant. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The steam-driven turbine inside is an enormous semi-cylinder that looks like a horizontal steel pipe cut in half, and spins a generator to produce electricity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The PG&E guide pointed out the window at a containment dome, where uranium atoms are split apart, releasing huge amounts of heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000154\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000154\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-40-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-40-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-40-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-40-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-40-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of a reactor containment building from the turbine building at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 13, 2026, the state’s only active nuclear power plant. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A cascade of effects follows: the heat warms water and creates steam, the steam travels through pipes to turn the turbine, the turbine connects to a generator, which makes electricity that’s then sent across the grid and delivered to about three million Californians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nuclear generates nearly\u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/california-electricity-data/2024-total-system-electric-generation\"> 9%\u003c/a> of the state’s energy supply, part of an energy mix that includes gas, hydroelectric, solar, wind, geothermal and even small amounts of coal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000854\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1172px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000854\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/PGE-Graphic.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1172\" height=\"727\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/PGE-Graphic.jpg 1172w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/PGE-Graphic-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/PGE-Graphic-768x476.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1172px) 100vw, 1172px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Power generation at Diablo Canyon. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of PG&E)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While California’s demand for electricity has been flat for years, it’s now growing with the adoption of electric vehicles, people swapping gas appliances for electric ones, and data centers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The debate to keep Diablo Canyon open is spurred, in part, by this uptick in demand. Maureen Zawalick, senior vice president and chief risk officer at PG&E, said stepping into the turbine deck reminds her of the end uses of all this power: “safety in hospitals, kidney dialysis, stop lights and everything else.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is walking its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000695/california-is-transitioning-from-fossil-fuels-to-electric-power-its-going-to-get-messy\">economy across a tightrope.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s growth in the 20th century was built on a foundation of fossil fuels, but leaders see its future as being powered by the buildout of renewables like solar and wind, along with batteries to store excess power.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When heat waves strained California’s power grid and caused rolling blackouts in 2020, state lawmakers and Newsom voted to extend Diablo Canyon’s operation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, as electricity bills continue to rise and demand is forecast to grow, proponents argue that keeping the plant open even longer can help California wobble across the precarious middle of the tightrope.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The simulator\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>We shed our safety gear and headed to the training building, with classrooms and an exact replica of the control room, called the simulator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was cool and quiet again as employees completed a training exercise, manipulating switches, lights and screens on a semicircle of vertical boards. Zawalick said the simulator’s seafoam green walls are meant to inspire calm, but its very existence is due to nuclear disasters that have occurred elsewhere in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000156\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000156\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-52-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-52-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-52-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-52-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-52-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A training facility at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 13, 2026, the state’s only active nuclear power plant. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Simulators became a requirement for all nuclear power plants in 1979 after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania. The partial meltdown was the most serious nuclear accident in U.S. history and was caused by both human and equipment failure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Practicing in a replica of Diablo Canyon’s actual control room is meant to train workers with the muscle memory to handle a variety of emergencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Employees spend 20% of their time in the Diablo Canyon simulator training for everything from planned refueling to routine maintenance to \u003ca href=\"https://www.dcisc.org/download/library/annual-reports/35th-annual-report-93.pdf\">major emergencies\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Spent nuclear fuel\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To finish the tour, we drove uphill and farther from the ocean to find dozens of hulking concrete cylinders that contain spent fuel, called “dry casks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The nuclear material is the concern of resident groups who fear an earthquake or terrorist attack could destabilize the storage and spew radioactive waste into the ocean or nearby communities. People living nearby are mailed annual emergency \u003ca href=\"https://www.prepareslo.org/en/emergency-planning-zone-information.aspx\">preparedness\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.pge.com/assets/pge/docs/about/pge-systems/emergency-planning-brochure.pdf\">documents\u003c/a> and have access to a free dose of \u003ca href=\"https://www.prepareslo.org/en/potassium-iodide-information.aspx\">potassium iodide\u003c/a>, which protects the thyroid gland against radiation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000848\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000848\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-60-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-60-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-60-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-60-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260213-DiabloCanyonNuclearPowerPlant-60-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Spent nuclear fuel in dry storage behind a raw water reservoir with desalinated ocean water at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 13, 2026, the state’s only active nuclear power plant. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Linda Seeley has rallied against Diablo Canyon for decades as a member of the anti-nuclear nonprofit Mothers for Peace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As much as I would love it if nuclear waste were not toxic and lethal to a thousand generations in the future, that’s not the fact. The fact is that it is toxic,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once fuel has been used inside the plant, radiation levels are dangerously high and have the potential to kill an exposed person \u003ca href=\"https://diablocanyonpanel.org/decom-topics/spent-fuel-management/\">in minutes\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000157\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000157\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-59-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-59-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-59-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-59-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/02/260213-DIABLOCANYONNUCLEARPOWERPLANT-59-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A raw water reservoir with desalinated ocean water at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 13, 2026, the state’s only active nuclear power plant. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The spent fuel spends 7 to 10 years next to the reactors in “wet storage,” a large pool of water treated with chemicals. The liquid absorbs heat and decays of the uranium, which has high levels of radiation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The nuclear material is then packed into the double-lined, stainless steel and reinforced dry casks, roughly 20 feet tall. Each is bolted to a 7.5-foot-thick, steel-reinforced concrete pad designed to withstand earthquakes. The fuel requires special handling for \u003ca href=\"https://diablocanyonpanel.org/decom-topics/spent-fuel-management/\">tens of thousands of years\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diablo Canyon is located roughly 3.5 miles from the Hosgri fault, which presents the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ml1633/ML16334A406.pdf\">main seismic risk\u003c/a> to the plant. Another fault, the Shoreline, is closer to the plant, but smaller. Some seismologists are concerned that a quake along the faults could cause a \u003ca href=\"https://mothersforpeace.org/may-15-2025-top-seismologist-urges-immediate-shutdown-of-diablo-canyon-nuclear-reactor-citing-unacceptable-risk-of-an-earthquake-triggered-meltdown/\">meltdown\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. government is legally \u003ca href=\"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-10/chapter-III/part-961\">obligated\u003c/a> to take ownership of all commercially spent nuclear fuel, but because the government has not yet built a permanent place to put it, the fuel is stored at the power plant.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Current solutions like Diablo Canyon’s dry storage casks, while they may be thorough, are only licensed until 2064 by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zawalick said PG&E is confident in the storage of Diablo Canyon’s spent fuel, though. She pointed out that nuclear power is “the only energy source that knows exactly where every ounce of our waste is.” The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and PG&E monitor the spent fuel on a \u003ca href=\"https://diablocanyonpanel.org/decom-topics/spent-fuel-management/\">daily\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/oversight\">annual basis\u003c/a>. “It’s secured, it’s inspected, it’s audited, it’s sampled. I’m a fan of all energy sources, but I don’t know where solar panels are sent when they’re done, and batteries, and all of that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zawalick pointed to the powerful transmission lines carrying energy created here out to millions of Californians: to illuminate rooms for special and mundane occasions, preserve food in refrigerators, run air conditioners, and warm their shower water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Order and safety come up frequently on the Diablo Canyon Power Plant tour: background checks, armed guards, seismic protective measures, reminders to hold on to handrails when on steps. The result is a calm and kempt environment, situated on a hillside overlooking the Pacific.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But underneath the serenity lie the inherent risks of nuclear power, especially when sited near seismic faultlines. Diablo Canyon has been the source of passionate debate as long as the idea of it has existed. And any effort to keep it operating longer will be no different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And with that, the tour was over, and the guides returned to their work. A cow made its way slowly across the access road, with no idea of its contentious neighbor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "californias-fuel-fears-threaten-benicias-just-transition-to-green-economy",
"title": "California’s Fuel Fears Threaten Benicia’s ‘Just Transition’ to Green Economy",
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"content": "\u003cp>In the city of Benicia on the bank of the Carquinez Strait, the view has fundamentally changed: smoke, steam, and black soot no longer spiral from the stacks of the Valero refinery, which stopped refining crude oil in April. So why are residents holding their breath?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the shuttering of the refinery, Benicia became the latest test case for California’s promise of a “just transition” from fossil fuels to renewable energy that protects workers’wages and livelihoods, invests in economically disadvantaged communities and reduces pollution impacts on the most vulnerable communities. Many Benicians are optimistic they have the assets and the know-how to succeed. But in a politically charged environment where gasoline prices are spiraling higher, California’s shifting interests threaten to delay any rebirth of the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State leaders negotiated an agreement with Valero this year to use its idled Benicia facility to store and transport imported fuel, which brings little economic activity while freezing redevelopment plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For more than half a century, Benicia’s economy and identity have depended on oil production. Valero’s 400-plus employees, a quarter of whom lived in town, spent some of their paychecks at First Street’s bars and restaurants, which also served hundreds more workers contracted for maintenance each year. Local businesses provided equipment, parts and services to Valero and must find a new market — or pivot to make a new product. Benicia businesses expect the ripple effects of the refinery closure to devastate livelihoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The closure was expected. California established its goal to completely phase out fossil fuels to combat global warming more than a decade ago. But Benicia is losing its largest taxpayer much sooner than the city can afford.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero’s refinery shutdown will cost Benicia an estimated $10.8 million annually in tax revenues, about 13% of the city’s general fund budget. The city manager reassured residents at a packed February town hall that they could still count on city services funded by $3 million in cash reserves. The city planned to sell water that Valero used, half the city’s supply, to other businesses, and applied for millions of dollars worth of community grants from the Bay Area Air District to sustain staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000867\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000867\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_007-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_007-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_007-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_007-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_007-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Martinez Refining Company is seen across the Carquinez Strait from Benicia, on April 13, 2026, as regional refining operations face uncertainty amid California’s transition away from fossil fuels. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the long term, Benecia’s leaders are banking on redevelopment of Valero’s 900 acres to bring new tax revenue and vitalize the local economy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly 500 of those acres were a buffer to mitigate risks of explosions, fires, emissions and other pollution. The land could be developed sooner than the land under the refinery itself, which state regulators expect could take ten years to clean up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wanna see dismantling and movement into our future,” said Kari Birdseye, a Benicia city council member, “I’m not sure that’s the vision that the state has right now because of the precarious nature of our petroleum situation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California state leaders have primarily focused on stabilizing fuel supply and keeping gas prices from spiraling out of control.[aside postID=news_12036695 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-01_qed-1020x680.jpg']On April 16, 2025, Valero announced it planned to idle, restructure, or cease refining operations in Benicia. This came six months after Phillips 66 declared its plans to stop refining in Wilmington, Los Angeles, by the year’s end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time, these facilities comprised nearly 20% of California’s refining capacity. The closures threatened to push oil prices higher — a political and economic disaster in a state where gasoline historically costs $0.90 more per gallon than the national average, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65184#:~:text=Data%20source:%20AAA,all%20states%20is%20%240.28/gal.\">U.S. Energy and Information Administration\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom responded to Valero’s announcement with a letter dated April 21 to the California Energy Commission, directing the state agency responsible for sustaining fuel supply to “redouble its efforts” with “high-level immediate engagement, to help ensure that Californians continue to have access to a safe, affordable, and reliable supply of transportation fuels.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A month later, Siva Gunda, vice chair of the energy commission, recommended easing regulations to increase fuel imports and local production. Many of the suggestions were enacted with the passage of SB 237 in September.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Environmentalists criticized the legislative changes as an oil industry wish list. They waived California’s requirement to switch to a lower emission fuel in summer months, exempted some oil and gas well permits from final environmental review, and paused penalties on excessive oil profits that lawmakers created to prevent price gouging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of the changes persuaded Valero to keep refining in Benicia. However, in January, the company agreed to import gasoline to meet its obligations to the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000874\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000874\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Valero refinery in Benicia on Sept. 21, 2023. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Benicia officials said they have not been in negotiations between the state and Valero. But Lauren Bird, the facilities general manager, told the Citizens’ Advisory Panel on April 17 that the refinery will import, store and transport gas and diesel for about two years, though it will no longer import jet fuel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Using Valero’s facility for imports provides little economic benefit to Benicia and delays redevelopment of 900 acres of prime real estate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It basically eliminates our ability to have any new development on the property,” said Christina Gilpin-Hayes, a resident who serves on with the city’s planning commission. “Nobody’s gonna want it. Even the land that’s the buffer acres, nobody’s gonna want to develop there if [Valero] is still using it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An energy commission spokesperson could not discuss the talks due to industry confidentiality rules, but said in an email that the agency is working with Benicia and stakeholders on alternatives for the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000871\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000871\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_009-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_009-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_009-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_009-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_009-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mural depicting historic downtown Benicia is seen along First Street on April 28, 2026, in Benicia. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some residents have called it a back-door deal and said they worry imported gasoline is a fire safety risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What is the state gonna do for us given that they’re imposing this?” said Marilyn Bardet, a member of the community advisory panel, at the February town hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gunda declined KQED’s request for an interview. But said at a state Senate committee hearing on Feb. 18 that much of the energy commission’s work in the last year was aimed at keeping gasoline costs from rising above $5 a gallon, which worked until the U.S. war with Iran pushed up prices globally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gunda urged lawmakers to turn to mitigating the economic impacts of refinery closures.[aside postID=news_12059271 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250509-BeniciaRefinery-32-BL_qed-1.jpg']“These unplanned, disruptive closures could have incredible impacts on the workers and the communities,” Gunda said. “It’s really important … to make sure we have the policies in place to support the transition in a way that we protect Californians.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ I’d like to think that some of these strategies are forthcoming,” said \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/people/josh-sonnenfeld/\">Josh Sonnenfeld\u003c/a>, a senior researcher at UC Berkeley Labor Center. “Given this is the sixth refinery closure or conversion [in six years], I think we need to pick up our pace here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sonnenfeld previously worked for the Blue Green Alliance, which helped Contra Costa County mitigate the 2020 conversion of the Marathon Refinery to renewable diesel. That change cost 700 refinery workers well-paid union jobs. In response, state lawmakers established the Displaced Oil and Gas Workers Fund to help pay for training and job searches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Workforce Development Board of Solano County received $3 million from the fund last year to help laid-off Valero workers, and is offering up to $25,000 in \u003ca href=\"https://solanoemployment.org/funding/\">grants\u003c/a> to small businesses affected by the closure. Advocates have lobbied to extend and expand the fund, as its authorization sunsets in 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sonnefeld thinks California leaders should look to other states as examples. For instance, New York created a tax stabilization fund for refinery towns and cities to make up for the sudden loss of refinery dollars, while \u003ca href=\"https://www.michigan.gov/leo/bureaus-agencies/economic-transition\">Michigan \u003c/a>and \u003ca href=\"https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/energy-transition/\">Minnesota\u003c/a> each established a community transition office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We haven’t set up that infrastructure yet in California around whose job is it to make sure that workers and communities are successfully transitioning,” Sonnenfeld said. “In California, we don’t want to acknowledge that they’re actually folks that are being hurt by the energy transition.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000872\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2000872 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_018-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_018-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_018-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_018-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_018-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A visitor walks along First Street near the waterfront on April 28, 2026, in Benicia. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Sonnenfeld said regional governments have shouldered more of the responsibility for mitigating the impact of refinery closures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air District launched a first-of-a-kind program this year where regulatory fines against polluters will be passed on to affected communities in the form of grants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air regulator issued $82 million in fines against Valero in 2024 for over a decade of excess emissions at the Benicia refinery, which will provide some $60 million in funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia plans to seek up to $43 million of the grants, which are also open to local businesses. \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/en/community-health/community-investments-office\">Applications are due in May\u003c/a>, and the awards are expected to be announced in September. That’s the same month that Signature Development, the company Valero hired to manage the sale of refinery land, is expected to present plans to repurpose the property to the city council for approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000875\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000875\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260424-BENICIA-DRONE-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260424-BENICIA-DRONE-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260424-BENICIA-DRONE-MD-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260424-BENICIA-DRONE-MD-02-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260424-BENICIA-DRONE-MD-02-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The waterfront in Benicia on April 24, 2026. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Until then, Benicia is on a white-knuckle transition trying to jumpstart a new, green economy without knowing when Valero will leave, or how long it will take to decontaminate and repurpose the refinery site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state legislature is considering a bill to help California’s eight remaining refinery towns plan better. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb1259\">SB 1259\u003c/a> would require refineries to plan for decommissioning and estimate the costs and timeline for cleaning up after a closure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Birdseye said the legislation wouldn’t benefit Benicia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re in a very precarious moment,” Birdseye said. “ But I’m filled with hope because of what we have here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000866\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000866\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_001-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_001-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_001-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_001-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_001-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kari Birdseye, a Benicia City Council member, stands overlooking Benicia’s marine oil terminal near the site of the Benicia Clocktower, on April 13, 2026, in Benicia, as the city prepares for the closure of the Valero refinery and the loss of roughly 10 percent of its annual tax revenue. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Birdseye said businesses have inquired about moving to Benicia for its central location between two interstate highways, with a rail line and port.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From the city’s old clock tower, Birdseye gestured to a berth below, where Valero had exported petroleum coke, a black dust that’s a refining byproduct and a health hazard. She said a federal agency, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, has identified the port as a possible supply chain and manufacturing site for the nascent offshore wind industry in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can put these large pieces of equipment on ships that go out the Golden Gate and either go down to the Port of Long Beach, Morro Bay or up to Humboldt, where they can be assembled into wind turbines,” Birdseye said. “That’s the perfect scenario for a just transition away from fossil fuels.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a recent afternoon at Benicia’s waterfront, resident Stephen Golub said one thing lost in the economic discussions about Valero’s departure is the gains in environmental and public health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000868\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000868\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_003-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_003-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_003-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_003-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_003-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stephen Golub, a Benicia resident, poses for a portrait along the waterfront on April 28, 2026, in Benicia. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“They were polluting our air again and again, sometimes secretly, sometimes more openly,” Golub said. “They were poisoning our politics by pouring massive funds into political campaigns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Golub said without a refinery, it’s easier to enjoy all that Benicia has to offer, including 28 public parks, stable political leadership, a vibrant art scene, good schools and safe streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Down the line, maybe 10 or 20 years, people will talk about this thriving community with all it has to offer, and they’ll say, ‘Hey, did you know that there was once a refinery here?’” Golub said.“I really think that’s what’s in the city’s future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "State leaders negotiated an agreement with Valero this year to use its idled Benicia facility to store and transport imported fuel, which brings little economic activity while freezing redevelopment plans.",
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"title": "California’s Fuel Fears Threaten Benicia’s ‘Just Transition’ to Green Economy | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In the city of Benicia on the bank of the Carquinez Strait, the view has fundamentally changed: smoke, steam, and black soot no longer spiral from the stacks of the Valero refinery, which stopped refining crude oil in April. So why are residents holding their breath?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the shuttering of the refinery, Benicia became the latest test case for California’s promise of a “just transition” from fossil fuels to renewable energy that protects workers’wages and livelihoods, invests in economically disadvantaged communities and reduces pollution impacts on the most vulnerable communities. Many Benicians are optimistic they have the assets and the know-how to succeed. But in a politically charged environment where gasoline prices are spiraling higher, California’s shifting interests threaten to delay any rebirth of the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State leaders negotiated an agreement with Valero this year to use its idled Benicia facility to store and transport imported fuel, which brings little economic activity while freezing redevelopment plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For more than half a century, Benicia’s economy and identity have depended on oil production. Valero’s 400-plus employees, a quarter of whom lived in town, spent some of their paychecks at First Street’s bars and restaurants, which also served hundreds more workers contracted for maintenance each year. Local businesses provided equipment, parts and services to Valero and must find a new market — or pivot to make a new product. Benicia businesses expect the ripple effects of the refinery closure to devastate livelihoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The closure was expected. California established its goal to completely phase out fossil fuels to combat global warming more than a decade ago. But Benicia is losing its largest taxpayer much sooner than the city can afford.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valero’s refinery shutdown will cost Benicia an estimated $10.8 million annually in tax revenues, about 13% of the city’s general fund budget. The city manager reassured residents at a packed February town hall that they could still count on city services funded by $3 million in cash reserves. The city planned to sell water that Valero used, half the city’s supply, to other businesses, and applied for millions of dollars worth of community grants from the Bay Area Air District to sustain staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000867\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000867\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_007-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_007-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_007-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_007-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_007-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Martinez Refining Company is seen across the Carquinez Strait from Benicia, on April 13, 2026, as regional refining operations face uncertainty amid California’s transition away from fossil fuels. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the long term, Benecia’s leaders are banking on redevelopment of Valero’s 900 acres to bring new tax revenue and vitalize the local economy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly 500 of those acres were a buffer to mitigate risks of explosions, fires, emissions and other pollution. The land could be developed sooner than the land under the refinery itself, which state regulators expect could take ten years to clean up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wanna see dismantling and movement into our future,” said Kari Birdseye, a Benicia city council member, “I’m not sure that’s the vision that the state has right now because of the precarious nature of our petroleum situation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California state leaders have primarily focused on stabilizing fuel supply and keeping gas prices from spiraling out of control.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>On April 16, 2025, Valero announced it planned to idle, restructure, or cease refining operations in Benicia. This came six months after Phillips 66 declared its plans to stop refining in Wilmington, Los Angeles, by the year’s end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time, these facilities comprised nearly 20% of California’s refining capacity. The closures threatened to push oil prices higher — a political and economic disaster in a state where gasoline historically costs $0.90 more per gallon than the national average, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65184#:~:text=Data%20source:%20AAA,all%20states%20is%20%240.28/gal.\">U.S. Energy and Information Administration\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom responded to Valero’s announcement with a letter dated April 21 to the California Energy Commission, directing the state agency responsible for sustaining fuel supply to “redouble its efforts” with “high-level immediate engagement, to help ensure that Californians continue to have access to a safe, affordable, and reliable supply of transportation fuels.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A month later, Siva Gunda, vice chair of the energy commission, recommended easing regulations to increase fuel imports and local production. Many of the suggestions were enacted with the passage of SB 237 in September.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Environmentalists criticized the legislative changes as an oil industry wish list. They waived California’s requirement to switch to a lower emission fuel in summer months, exempted some oil and gas well permits from final environmental review, and paused penalties on excessive oil profits that lawmakers created to prevent price gouging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of the changes persuaded Valero to keep refining in Benicia. However, in January, the company agreed to import gasoline to meet its obligations to the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000874\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000874\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-02-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Valero refinery in Benicia on Sept. 21, 2023. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Benicia officials said they have not been in negotiations between the state and Valero. But Lauren Bird, the facilities general manager, told the Citizens’ Advisory Panel on April 17 that the refinery will import, store and transport gas and diesel for about two years, though it will no longer import jet fuel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Using Valero’s facility for imports provides little economic benefit to Benicia and delays redevelopment of 900 acres of prime real estate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It basically eliminates our ability to have any new development on the property,” said Christina Gilpin-Hayes, a resident who serves on with the city’s planning commission. “Nobody’s gonna want it. Even the land that’s the buffer acres, nobody’s gonna want to develop there if [Valero] is still using it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An energy commission spokesperson could not discuss the talks due to industry confidentiality rules, but said in an email that the agency is working with Benicia and stakeholders on alternatives for the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000871\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000871\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_009-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_009-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_009-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_009-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_009-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mural depicting historic downtown Benicia is seen along First Street on April 28, 2026, in Benicia. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some residents have called it a back-door deal and said they worry imported gasoline is a fire safety risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What is the state gonna do for us given that they’re imposing this?” said Marilyn Bardet, a member of the community advisory panel, at the February town hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gunda declined KQED’s request for an interview. But said at a state Senate committee hearing on Feb. 18 that much of the energy commission’s work in the last year was aimed at keeping gasoline costs from rising above $5 a gallon, which worked until the U.S. war with Iran pushed up prices globally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gunda urged lawmakers to turn to mitigating the economic impacts of refinery closures.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“These unplanned, disruptive closures could have incredible impacts on the workers and the communities,” Gunda said. “It’s really important … to make sure we have the policies in place to support the transition in a way that we protect Californians.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ I’d like to think that some of these strategies are forthcoming,” said \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/people/josh-sonnenfeld/\">Josh Sonnenfeld\u003c/a>, a senior researcher at UC Berkeley Labor Center. “Given this is the sixth refinery closure or conversion [in six years], I think we need to pick up our pace here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sonnenfeld previously worked for the Blue Green Alliance, which helped Contra Costa County mitigate the 2020 conversion of the Marathon Refinery to renewable diesel. That change cost 700 refinery workers well-paid union jobs. In response, state lawmakers established the Displaced Oil and Gas Workers Fund to help pay for training and job searches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Workforce Development Board of Solano County received $3 million from the fund last year to help laid-off Valero workers, and is offering up to $25,000 in \u003ca href=\"https://solanoemployment.org/funding/\">grants\u003c/a> to small businesses affected by the closure. Advocates have lobbied to extend and expand the fund, as its authorization sunsets in 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sonnefeld thinks California leaders should look to other states as examples. For instance, New York created a tax stabilization fund for refinery towns and cities to make up for the sudden loss of refinery dollars, while \u003ca href=\"https://www.michigan.gov/leo/bureaus-agencies/economic-transition\">Michigan \u003c/a>and \u003ca href=\"https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/energy-transition/\">Minnesota\u003c/a> each established a community transition office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We haven’t set up that infrastructure yet in California around whose job is it to make sure that workers and communities are successfully transitioning,” Sonnenfeld said. “In California, we don’t want to acknowledge that they’re actually folks that are being hurt by the energy transition.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000872\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2000872 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_018-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_018-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_018-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_018-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_018-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A visitor walks along First Street near the waterfront on April 28, 2026, in Benicia. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Sonnenfeld said regional governments have shouldered more of the responsibility for mitigating the impact of refinery closures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air District launched a first-of-a-kind program this year where regulatory fines against polluters will be passed on to affected communities in the form of grants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air regulator issued $82 million in fines against Valero in 2024 for over a decade of excess emissions at the Benicia refinery, which will provide some $60 million in funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benicia plans to seek up to $43 million of the grants, which are also open to local businesses. \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/en/community-health/community-investments-office\">Applications are due in May\u003c/a>, and the awards are expected to be announced in September. That’s the same month that Signature Development, the company Valero hired to manage the sale of refinery land, is expected to present plans to repurpose the property to the city council for approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000875\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000875\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260424-BENICIA-DRONE-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260424-BENICIA-DRONE-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260424-BENICIA-DRONE-MD-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260424-BENICIA-DRONE-MD-02-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260424-BENICIA-DRONE-MD-02-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The waterfront in Benicia on April 24, 2026. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Until then, Benicia is on a white-knuckle transition trying to jumpstart a new, green economy without knowing when Valero will leave, or how long it will take to decontaminate and repurpose the refinery site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state legislature is considering a bill to help California’s eight remaining refinery towns plan better. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb1259\">SB 1259\u003c/a> would require refineries to plan for decommissioning and estimate the costs and timeline for cleaning up after a closure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Birdseye said the legislation wouldn’t benefit Benicia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re in a very precarious moment,” Birdseye said. “ But I’m filled with hope because of what we have here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000866\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000866\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_001-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_001-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_001-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_001-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/041326BENICIAVALERO_GH_001-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kari Birdseye, a Benicia City Council member, stands overlooking Benicia’s marine oil terminal near the site of the Benicia Clocktower, on April 13, 2026, in Benicia, as the city prepares for the closure of the Valero refinery and the loss of roughly 10 percent of its annual tax revenue. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Birdseye said businesses have inquired about moving to Benicia for its central location between two interstate highways, with a rail line and port.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From the city’s old clock tower, Birdseye gestured to a berth below, where Valero had exported petroleum coke, a black dust that’s a refining byproduct and a health hazard. She said a federal agency, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, has identified the port as a possible supply chain and manufacturing site for the nascent offshore wind industry in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can put these large pieces of equipment on ships that go out the Golden Gate and either go down to the Port of Long Beach, Morro Bay or up to Humboldt, where they can be assembled into wind turbines,” Birdseye said. “That’s the perfect scenario for a just transition away from fossil fuels.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a recent afternoon at Benicia’s waterfront, resident Stephen Golub said one thing lost in the economic discussions about Valero’s departure is the gains in environmental and public health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000868\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000868\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_003-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_003-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_003-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_003-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042806BENICIA-AFTER-VALERO-PT.-2_GH_003-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stephen Golub, a Benicia resident, poses for a portrait along the waterfront on April 28, 2026, in Benicia. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“They were polluting our air again and again, sometimes secretly, sometimes more openly,” Golub said. “They were poisoning our politics by pouring massive funds into political campaigns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Golub said without a refinery, it’s easier to enjoy all that Benicia has to offer, including 28 public parks, stable political leadership, a vibrant art scene, good schools and safe streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Down the line, maybe 10 or 20 years, people will talk about this thriving community with all it has to offer, and they’ll say, ‘Hey, did you know that there was once a refinery here?’” Golub said.“I really think that’s what’s in the city’s future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Over the next two days, forecasters expect a cold storm to temporarily reblanket the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/sierra-nevada\">Sierra Nevada\u003c/a> with several feet of snow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Weather Service has issued a \u003ca href=\"https://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=STO&wwa=winter%20storm%20warning\">winter storm warning\u003c/a> through 5 p.m. Wednesday for the Northern Sierra above 5,000 feet. While the storm will bring yet another round of April snow after a historically warm, dry March for California, it’s not expected to do much lasting good for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000372/snow-eater-heat-wave-behind-big-sierra-melt-is-a-look-at-our-climate-future\">the state’s meager snowpack\u003c/a>, which sits at \u003ca href=\"https://snow.water.ca.gov/\">18% of normal\u003c/a> for this time of year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My guess is if you look at the snowpack analysis on Thursday, this will show up as just a blip on the curve,” said Chris Smallcomb, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Reno office. “It’ll keep things from getting worse, at least for a few days.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, said in his Tuesday YouTube office hours that while it’s not rare for the Sierra to get snow in April, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000704/bay-area-weather-turns-the-corner-with-more-late-spring-rain\">multiple storms this month\u003c/a> could make it one of the wettest on record for some parts of the range.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We might see some record-breaking numbers in some important locations, from Tahoe to Sacramento to San Francisco,” Swain said. “It does help considerably. Has it erased our snow deficit? Nope.”[aside postID=science_2000704 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/251223-Storm-10-BL_qed-1.jpg']Smallcomb said the system moving in from the Pacific is more of a “travel impact storm,” especially Tuesday evening and potentially Wednesday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s your garden-variety spring storm that comes down the coast of California that we get in April and even into May sometimes,” Smallcomb said. “This is on the low end of the storm spectrum in terms of intensity, size, snowfall and all that jazz.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the highest peaks could get nearly 2 feet of snow by the time the storm passes on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Roads will get dicey, snow-covered and hazardous over the Sierra, so definitely keep an eye on the traffic and travel conditions,” Smallcomb said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dakari Anderson, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Sacramento office, said the storm isn’t out of character for the season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drivers should expect “major travel delays, road closures, and chain controls” and generally avoid mountain travel over the next two days, he said. After that, Anderson said, the mountains should see “lingering showers through the weekend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Over the next two days, forecasters expect a cold storm to temporarily reblanket the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/sierra-nevada\">Sierra Nevada\u003c/a> with several feet of snow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Weather Service has issued a \u003ca href=\"https://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=STO&wwa=winter%20storm%20warning\">winter storm warning\u003c/a> through 5 p.m. Wednesday for the Northern Sierra above 5,000 feet. While the storm will bring yet another round of April snow after a historically warm, dry March for California, it’s not expected to do much lasting good for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000372/snow-eater-heat-wave-behind-big-sierra-melt-is-a-look-at-our-climate-future\">the state’s meager snowpack\u003c/a>, which sits at \u003ca href=\"https://snow.water.ca.gov/\">18% of normal\u003c/a> for this time of year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My guess is if you look at the snowpack analysis on Thursday, this will show up as just a blip on the curve,” said Chris Smallcomb, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Reno office. “It’ll keep things from getting worse, at least for a few days.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, said in his Tuesday YouTube office hours that while it’s not rare for the Sierra to get snow in April, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000704/bay-area-weather-turns-the-corner-with-more-late-spring-rain\">multiple storms this month\u003c/a> could make it one of the wettest on record for some parts of the range.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We might see some record-breaking numbers in some important locations, from Tahoe to Sacramento to San Francisco,” Swain said. “It does help considerably. Has it erased our snow deficit? Nope.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Smallcomb said the system moving in from the Pacific is more of a “travel impact storm,” especially Tuesday evening and potentially Wednesday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s your garden-variety spring storm that comes down the coast of California that we get in April and even into May sometimes,” Smallcomb said. “This is on the low end of the storm spectrum in terms of intensity, size, snowfall and all that jazz.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the highest peaks could get nearly 2 feet of snow by the time the storm passes on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Roads will get dicey, snow-covered and hazardous over the Sierra, so definitely keep an eye on the traffic and travel conditions,” Smallcomb said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dakari Anderson, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Sacramento office, said the storm isn’t out of character for the season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drivers should expect “major travel delays, road closures, and chain controls” and generally avoid mountain travel over the next two days, he said. After that, Anderson said, the mountains should see “lingering showers through the weekend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>California is transitioning to clean energy. KQED is reporting on what that means for you. \u003c/em>\u003cem>What works? What doesn’t? How much does it cost? Help us find these answers and more by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://donate.kqed.org/sojo?ms=W2510EANXXXX22\">\u003cem>donating today\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/californiareport-podcasts\">California\u003c/a> is in a state of transition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Golden State’s 20th-century success was built on a foundation of fossil fuels: the car allowed the population to skyrocket and suburbs and freeways to proliferate, homegrown oil production generated major capital, and \u003ca href=\"https://cupblog.org/2025/04/02/hollywoods-climate-crisis-a-very-short-history-brian-jacobson/\">Hollywood\u003c/a> illuminated soundstages with lights powered by coal and oil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is now banking on a different future, one built on renewable and carbon-free electricity. Lawmakers passed a 2018 \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB100\">mandate\u003c/a> requiring that utilities source 100% of their electricity from renewable and zero-carbon sources by the end of 2045. “It will not be easy. It will not be immediate. But it must be done,” then-Gov. Jerry Brown said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adding to the challenge is a steep increase in electricity costs, reflected in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1999400/bay-area-electricity-bills-are-some-of-the-highest-where-does-your-money-go\">monthly utility bills\u003c/a> Californians must pay each month. Costs have \u003ca href=\"https://www.publicadvocates.cpuc.ca.gov/press-room/reports-and-analyses/2025-q4-electric-rates-report\">nearly doubled\u003c/a> in the last decade, largely driven by investments to shore up the grid against climate-fueled wildfires. The high price of power makes a key component of the transition, the switch from gas to electricity, daunting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite this, the state is making major progress, but there’s still a long way to go. And like any adolescence, things are prone to get awkward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state of limbo has a name: “\u003ca href=\"https://emilygrubert.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Grubert-and-Hastings-Simon-2022-Designing-the-mid-transition-A-review-of-medium-t.pdf\">mid-transition\u003c/a>,” coined by Emily Grubert, a sustainable energy researcher at the University of Notre Dame. California is among the first places “actually dealing with many of these questions of managed transition” away from fossil fuels, Grubert said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1997021\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1997021\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matthew Milner (left) and Rupert Mayer work to install solar panels in Milner’s backyard in Kensington on May 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The progress and targets California has yet to achieve are visible in the charts below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s use of renewable and zero-carbon sources to generate electricity grew from 41% in 2013 to about \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/california-electricity-data/2024-total-system-electric-generation\">67%\u003c/a> in 2023. That includes renewables like solar, wind, and geothermal energy and zero-carbon sources like nuclear and large hydroelectric projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials often trot out the fact that California’s economy has “decoupled” its economic growth from planet-warming pollution. “In California, we know that a healthy, clean climate and thriving economy aren’t zero-sum games. We can excel at both,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000730\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1631px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000730\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Estimated-Annual-Clean-Energy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1631\" height=\"1160\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Estimated-Annual-Clean-Energy.jpg 1631w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Estimated-Annual-Clean-Energy-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Estimated-Annual-Clean-Energy-768x546.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Estimated-Annual-Clean-Energy-1536x1092.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1631px) 100vw, 1631px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California has increasingly built out and deployed renewable energy in recent years. Renewable and carbon-free sources like solar, wind, hydroelectric and nuclear power comprise the majority of our power now. \u003ccite>(\u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/clean-energy-serving-california/estimated-annual-clean-energy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> California Energy Commission \u003c/a>)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California’s GDP more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/californias-economy/\">doubled\u003c/a> from 2000 to 2023, even as overall greenhouse gas emissions fell by \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2025-11/nc-2000-2023_ghg_inventory_trends_figures.xlsx\">21%\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has successfully built out battery storage, reaching 16,942 megawatts (MW) of capacity, enough to power roughly \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2023/07/12/icymi-california-grid-reaches-5600-mw-of-battery-storage-capacity-a-1020-increase-since-2020/\">13\u003c/a> million homes for 4 hours. That represents a \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/news/2025-11/californias-battery-storage-fleet-continues-record-growth-strengthening-grid\">2100%\u003c/a> increase since 2019. The batteries hold excess solar and wind energy, which is deployed when the sun sets or the wind stops blowing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s clean energy transition will be challenging and expensive, but Grubert said, sticking to the current approach is enormously costly as well, and simply not an option on a dangerously warming planet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000733\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000733\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SecondGraphClimate.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1123\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SecondGraphClimate.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SecondGraphClimate-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SecondGraphClimate-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SecondGraphClimate-1536x862.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SecondGraphClimate-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California officials said they have “decoupled” economic growth from overall greenhouse gas emissions. \u003ccite>(\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/news/california-greenhouse-gas-emissions-decline-across-most-sectors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> California Air Resources Board \u003c/a>)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Among the challenges will be expanding and strengthening the electricity grid to feed more energy-hungry \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/filebrowser/download/9328?fid=9328\">data centers, electric vehicles and appliances\u003c/a>, while safeguarding utility poles and wires against wildfires and extreme weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state will also need to maintain both aging fossil fuel infrastructure and an expanding electric system in a way that won’t put further strain on Californians struggling with high utility costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How can California achieve its energy future without breaking the bank? Over the coming months, KQED will tell the stories of a California in mid-transition: the challenges and potential solutions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000735\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000735\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Clean-Energy-Milestone_Nov-2025-1920x1080-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Clean-Energy-Milestone_Nov-2025-1920x1080-1.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Clean-Energy-Milestone_Nov-2025-1920x1080-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Clean-Energy-Milestone_Nov-2025-1920x1080-1-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California’s battery storage capacity has exploded in recent years, providing a major asset to the grid during extreme heat. \u003ccite>(\u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/news/2025-11/californias-battery-storage-fleet-continues-record-growth-strengthening-grid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">California Energy Commission\u003c/a>)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The stories will examine how this enormous shift is unfolding at the state, community and individual levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ll look at the power sources available to the state — including nuclear, solar, wind — the challenges that come with them, and the costs of building out new sources of power or keeping older ones online.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ll report on community efforts to swap gas appliances for electric ones, including how low- and middle-income families are making this switch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And we’ll cover how individuals, even in this murky middle ground, are taking action: renters investing in portable heat pumps and solar panels, libraries loaning out induction cooktops, electric vehicle owners trying to turn their cars into a backup battery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Follow along as we chronicle the messy, erratic and exciting birth of a new California energy system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>California is transitioning to clean energy. KQED is reporting on what that means for you. \u003c/em>\u003cem>What works? What doesn’t? How much does it cost? Help us find these answers and more by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://donate.kqed.org/sojo?ms=W2510EANXXXX22\">\u003cem>donating today\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/californiareport-podcasts\">California\u003c/a> is in a state of transition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Golden State’s 20th-century success was built on a foundation of fossil fuels: the car allowed the population to skyrocket and suburbs and freeways to proliferate, homegrown oil production generated major capital, and \u003ca href=\"https://cupblog.org/2025/04/02/hollywoods-climate-crisis-a-very-short-history-brian-jacobson/\">Hollywood\u003c/a> illuminated soundstages with lights powered by coal and oil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is now banking on a different future, one built on renewable and carbon-free electricity. Lawmakers passed a 2018 \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB100\">mandate\u003c/a> requiring that utilities source 100% of their electricity from renewable and zero-carbon sources by the end of 2045. “It will not be easy. It will not be immediate. But it must be done,” then-Gov. Jerry Brown said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adding to the challenge is a steep increase in electricity costs, reflected in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1999400/bay-area-electricity-bills-are-some-of-the-highest-where-does-your-money-go\">monthly utility bills\u003c/a> Californians must pay each month. Costs have \u003ca href=\"https://www.publicadvocates.cpuc.ca.gov/press-room/reports-and-analyses/2025-q4-electric-rates-report\">nearly doubled\u003c/a> in the last decade, largely driven by investments to shore up the grid against climate-fueled wildfires. The high price of power makes a key component of the transition, the switch from gas to electricity, daunting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite this, the state is making major progress, but there’s still a long way to go. And like any adolescence, things are prone to get awkward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state of limbo has a name: “\u003ca href=\"https://emilygrubert.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Grubert-and-Hastings-Simon-2022-Designing-the-mid-transition-A-review-of-medium-t.pdf\">mid-transition\u003c/a>,” coined by Emily Grubert, a sustainable energy researcher at the University of Notre Dame. California is among the first places “actually dealing with many of these questions of managed transition” away from fossil fuels, Grubert said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1997021\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1997021\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-01-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matthew Milner (left) and Rupert Mayer work to install solar panels in Milner’s backyard in Kensington on May 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The progress and targets California has yet to achieve are visible in the charts below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s use of renewable and zero-carbon sources to generate electricity grew from 41% in 2013 to about \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/california-electricity-data/2024-total-system-electric-generation\">67%\u003c/a> in 2023. That includes renewables like solar, wind, and geothermal energy and zero-carbon sources like nuclear and large hydroelectric projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials often trot out the fact that California’s economy has “decoupled” its economic growth from planet-warming pollution. “In California, we know that a healthy, clean climate and thriving economy aren’t zero-sum games. We can excel at both,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000730\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1631px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000730\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Estimated-Annual-Clean-Energy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1631\" height=\"1160\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Estimated-Annual-Clean-Energy.jpg 1631w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Estimated-Annual-Clean-Energy-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Estimated-Annual-Clean-Energy-768x546.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Estimated-Annual-Clean-Energy-1536x1092.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1631px) 100vw, 1631px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California has increasingly built out and deployed renewable energy in recent years. Renewable and carbon-free sources like solar, wind, hydroelectric and nuclear power comprise the majority of our power now. \u003ccite>(\u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/clean-energy-serving-california/estimated-annual-clean-energy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> California Energy Commission \u003c/a>)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California’s GDP more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/californias-economy/\">doubled\u003c/a> from 2000 to 2023, even as overall greenhouse gas emissions fell by \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2025-11/nc-2000-2023_ghg_inventory_trends_figures.xlsx\">21%\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has successfully built out battery storage, reaching 16,942 megawatts (MW) of capacity, enough to power roughly \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2023/07/12/icymi-california-grid-reaches-5600-mw-of-battery-storage-capacity-a-1020-increase-since-2020/\">13\u003c/a> million homes for 4 hours. That represents a \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/news/2025-11/californias-battery-storage-fleet-continues-record-growth-strengthening-grid\">2100%\u003c/a> increase since 2019. The batteries hold excess solar and wind energy, which is deployed when the sun sets or the wind stops blowing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s clean energy transition will be challenging and expensive, but Grubert said, sticking to the current approach is enormously costly as well, and simply not an option on a dangerously warming planet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000733\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000733\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SecondGraphClimate.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1123\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SecondGraphClimate.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SecondGraphClimate-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SecondGraphClimate-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SecondGraphClimate-1536x862.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SecondGraphClimate-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California officials said they have “decoupled” economic growth from overall greenhouse gas emissions. \u003ccite>(\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/news/california-greenhouse-gas-emissions-decline-across-most-sectors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> California Air Resources Board \u003c/a>)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Among the challenges will be expanding and strengthening the electricity grid to feed more energy-hungry \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/filebrowser/download/9328?fid=9328\">data centers, electric vehicles and appliances\u003c/a>, while safeguarding utility poles and wires against wildfires and extreme weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state will also need to maintain both aging fossil fuel infrastructure and an expanding electric system in a way that won’t put further strain on Californians struggling with high utility costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How can California achieve its energy future without breaking the bank? Over the coming months, KQED will tell the stories of a California in mid-transition: the challenges and potential solutions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000735\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000735\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Clean-Energy-Milestone_Nov-2025-1920x1080-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Clean-Energy-Milestone_Nov-2025-1920x1080-1.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Clean-Energy-Milestone_Nov-2025-1920x1080-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Clean-Energy-Milestone_Nov-2025-1920x1080-1-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California’s battery storage capacity has exploded in recent years, providing a major asset to the grid during extreme heat. \u003ccite>(\u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/news/2025-11/californias-battery-storage-fleet-continues-record-growth-strengthening-grid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">California Energy Commission\u003c/a>)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The stories will examine how this enormous shift is unfolding at the state, community and individual levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ll look at the power sources available to the state — including nuclear, solar, wind — the challenges that come with them, and the costs of building out new sources of power or keeping older ones online.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ll report on community efforts to swap gas appliances for electric ones, including how low- and middle-income families are making this switch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And we’ll cover how individuals, even in this murky middle ground, are taking action: renters investing in portable heat pumps and solar panels, libraries loaning out induction cooktops, electric vehicle owners trying to turn their cars into a backup battery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Follow along as we chronicle the messy, erratic and exciting birth of a new California energy system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Rain has returned to the Bay Area after a stretch of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000315/record-breaking-heat-wave-bakes-the-bay-area-through-friday\">record warm spring weather\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Showers hit the North Bay on Monday morning, ushering in a storm front that will move through Northern California and the Central Coast throughout the early part of this week with up to 3 inches of rainfall and snow in the mountains — and more could follow heading into early May, according to the National Weather Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are turning the corner with wetter weather,” said NWS meteorologist Matt Maley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Higher elevation areas such as the Santa Lucia, Santa Cruz and North Bay mountains could see 2 to 3 inches of rain this week. In San Francisco, Oakland and other more central parts of the Bay Area, the storm system is expected to drop half an inch to an inch and a half of rain, according to Maley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Following Monday’s most significant rainfall, he said there could be additional showers and a chance of thunderstorms through Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The storm system is unseasonably late for the Bay Area, where the end of April into May usually marks a transition to springtime weather. But, Maley said, it’s sorely needed given the lack of rain and snowfall in recent months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In mid-March, temperatures across the state soared \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000299/a-delight-mare-bay-area-sizzles-march-heat-wave-could-shatter-records\">up to 30 degrees above average\u003c/a>, breaking into the 90s in the South Bay and 80s in San Francisco. While the extended heat wave was fun for some beachgoers, it raised alarms among state officials, who said the melting snowpack could lead to drought and early wildfire conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any late spring rainfall is definitely a welcome sight,” Maley told KQED. “This will be mainly beneficial rain, that’s going to delay any type of fire weather concerns as we head into the upcoming summer.”[aside postID=news_12080455 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-SPUREARTHQUAKE-06-BL-KQED.jpg']The storm is also expected to hit the Sierra Nevada, adding up to three feet to the dwindling snowpack at elevations about 7,000 feet. Early spring weather there has also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000372/snow-eater-heat-wave-behind-big-sierra-melt-is-a-look-at-our-climate-future\">whittled away snow in recent months\u003c/a>, forcing many ski resorts to shut down for the season early or close runs where slushy ice has all but disappeared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the beginning of the month, the Sierra’s snowpack was just \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000531/as-sierra-snowpack-dwindles-concern-mounts-over-fire-risk-and-water-management\">18% of its April 1 average\u003c/a>. The final winter survey is supposed to be the California Department of Water Resources’ best indicator of how much water will be available for farms and cities through the warmer seasons — and generally marks the height of the snowpack.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year, green grass peeked through patchy snow as the officials took measurements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While California’s reservoirs are in relatively good shape, officials warned that if record-breaking years like this one compound, it could be a different story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is how droughts start,” Aaron Baker, the chief operating officer for the Santa Clara Valley Water District in the South Bay, told KQED at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luckily, the Bay Area could see another unusual weather pattern this spring, with April showers bleeding into May. The 14-day forecast is showing elevated precipitation chances, according to Maley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Extended guidance from the Climate Prediction Center leans towards temperatures and rain totals above seasonal averages for the last days of April into the first days of May,” the weather service said Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A storm front will move through Northern California and the Central Coast this week, bringing up to 3 inches of rainfall and more snow in the Sierra Nevada.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Rain has returned to the Bay Area after a stretch of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000315/record-breaking-heat-wave-bakes-the-bay-area-through-friday\">record warm spring weather\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Showers hit the North Bay on Monday morning, ushering in a storm front that will move through Northern California and the Central Coast throughout the early part of this week with up to 3 inches of rainfall and snow in the mountains — and more could follow heading into early May, according to the National Weather Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are turning the corner with wetter weather,” said NWS meteorologist Matt Maley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Higher elevation areas such as the Santa Lucia, Santa Cruz and North Bay mountains could see 2 to 3 inches of rain this week. In San Francisco, Oakland and other more central parts of the Bay Area, the storm system is expected to drop half an inch to an inch and a half of rain, according to Maley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Following Monday’s most significant rainfall, he said there could be additional showers and a chance of thunderstorms through Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The storm system is unseasonably late for the Bay Area, where the end of April into May usually marks a transition to springtime weather. But, Maley said, it’s sorely needed given the lack of rain and snowfall in recent months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In mid-March, temperatures across the state soared \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000299/a-delight-mare-bay-area-sizzles-march-heat-wave-could-shatter-records\">up to 30 degrees above average\u003c/a>, breaking into the 90s in the South Bay and 80s in San Francisco. While the extended heat wave was fun for some beachgoers, it raised alarms among state officials, who said the melting snowpack could lead to drought and early wildfire conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any late spring rainfall is definitely a welcome sight,” Maley told KQED. “This will be mainly beneficial rain, that’s going to delay any type of fire weather concerns as we head into the upcoming summer.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The storm is also expected to hit the Sierra Nevada, adding up to three feet to the dwindling snowpack at elevations about 7,000 feet. Early spring weather there has also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000372/snow-eater-heat-wave-behind-big-sierra-melt-is-a-look-at-our-climate-future\">whittled away snow in recent months\u003c/a>, forcing many ski resorts to shut down for the season early or close runs where slushy ice has all but disappeared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the beginning of the month, the Sierra’s snowpack was just \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000531/as-sierra-snowpack-dwindles-concern-mounts-over-fire-risk-and-water-management\">18% of its April 1 average\u003c/a>. The final winter survey is supposed to be the California Department of Water Resources’ best indicator of how much water will be available for farms and cities through the warmer seasons — and generally marks the height of the snowpack.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year, green grass peeked through patchy snow as the officials took measurements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While California’s reservoirs are in relatively good shape, officials warned that if record-breaking years like this one compound, it could be a different story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is how droughts start,” Aaron Baker, the chief operating officer for the Santa Clara Valley Water District in the South Bay, told KQED at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luckily, the Bay Area could see another unusual weather pattern this spring, with April showers bleeding into May. The 14-day forecast is showing elevated precipitation chances, according to Maley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Extended guidance from the Climate Prediction Center leans towards temperatures and rain totals above seasonal averages for the last days of April into the first days of May,” the weather service said Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "‘Who’s Not Paying?’: Fire Survivors Back California Bill to Hold Big Oil Accountable",
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"content": "\u003cp>As worsening \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/climate\">climate\u003c/a>-related disasters like fires and floods drive up insurance costs in California, state Sen. Scott Wiener and fire survivors are pushing for a bill that could give the state a way to force oil companies to pay for their role.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 982, a streamlined \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12024206/fire-survivors-insurers-could-sue-big-oil-climate-disasters-under-california-bill\">version of a bill\u003c/a> that did not pass last year in the wake of the devastating Los Angeles-area fires, aims to blunt rising insurance costs by allowing the state attorney general to sue fossil fuel companies for damages connected to a climate disaster such as a wildfire, heat wave, drought or storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a hearing at the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, supporters and opponents shared their thoughts on the bill with lawmakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gayle Ali and her husband, Rasheed, said they were celebrating their 43rd wedding anniversary when the Eaton Fire destroyed their house in Altadena, where they have lived for 30 years. The fire took her photo studio, her husband’s music studio, furniture, cars and family photos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A life erased,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re rebuilding with the help of their community and crowdfunding grants, but they don’t know if insurance will be available or how much it will cost in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999799\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999799\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The remains of a house in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“What truly angers me is knowing that this wasn’t just bad luck,” Ali said. “I’ve since learned that back in the ’80s, years before we bought our home, Exxon’s own scientists warned the effects of their products would be catastrophic. They chose to hide the truth and spend millions on PR campaigns that are still running today. They keep profiting while putting our communities in danger.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oil companies such as ExxonMobil had their own internal research \u003ca href=\"https://insideclimatenews.org/project/exxon-the-road-not-taken/\">decades ago\u003c/a> showing that burning fossil fuel would contribute to global warming, which intensifies extreme disasters like fires and floods. Publicly, however, they sought to undermine the science and cast doubt on the effects of human-caused climate change. Meanwhile, they have continued to \u003ca href=\"https://www.nypirg.org/pubs/202603/Big_Oil_Profits_Release_Draft_3.15.26.pdf\">rake in large profits\u003c/a> year after year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While so much of our community has lost everything — I mean everything — and so many families can barely afford food, let alone rebuild, the five largest oil corporations made nearly $400 billion in profit over the last three years,” Ali said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet right now, taxpayers and disaster survivors are the only ones paying for climate change, she said.[aside postID=science_2000611 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed.jpg']“We have to ask, who’s not paying?” Wiener said while speaking in support of his bill. “We know that the victims, the survivors, are paying in profound ways. Taxpayers are paying. And of course, policyholders are paying with much higher premiums. Who’s not paying? The answer is the fossil fuel industry, the corporations whose products fueled this crisis by fueling climate change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill’s \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billCompareClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB982&showamends=false\">current version\u003c/a> is simplified from the proposal that Wiener and a colleague introduced last year, which would have allowed disaster survivors or insurance companies themselves to sue for damages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We heard the feedback [from last year],” Wiener said. “This bill is profoundly narrower.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the bill’s current version, the amount of damages sought in a civil action filed by the attorney general would be in proportion to a company’s market share. Any payouts would go to a newly created Attorney General Climate Disaster Fund and be distributed to policyholders; the California FAIR plan, which is the state’s insurer of last resort; the California Safe Homes grant program, which provides funding for fire-hardening work in high-risk areas; and to cover litigation costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industry opponents say the bill would raise gas prices and kill jobs. A \u003ca href=\"https://centerforjobs.org/wp-content/uploads/SB-982-Consumer-and-Economic-Impacts-Report.pdf\">report released\u003c/a> this month by the California Center for Jobs and the Economy details concerns ranging from higher premiums to less tax revenue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener rebutted these concerns, saying that gas is a global commodity, with prices set by worldwide market forces and not “the threat of hypothetical litigation,” and that the analyses ignore the benefits of payments to disaster survivors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Louise Bedsworth, executive director of UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment, spoke in support of the bill and pointed out that by the end of the century, the average area burned by wildfire in the state is projected to \u003ca href=\"https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/californias-mega-fires-have-arrived-30-years-early/\">increase by 77%\u003c/a> if emissions continue to rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As worsening \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/climate\">climate\u003c/a>-related disasters like fires and floods drive up insurance costs in California, state Sen. Scott Wiener and fire survivors are pushing for a bill that could give the state a way to force oil companies to pay for their role.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 982, a streamlined \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12024206/fire-survivors-insurers-could-sue-big-oil-climate-disasters-under-california-bill\">version of a bill\u003c/a> that did not pass last year in the wake of the devastating Los Angeles-area fires, aims to blunt rising insurance costs by allowing the state attorney general to sue fossil fuel companies for damages connected to a climate disaster such as a wildfire, heat wave, drought or storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a hearing at the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, supporters and opponents shared their thoughts on the bill with lawmakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gayle Ali and her husband, Rasheed, said they were celebrating their 43rd wedding anniversary when the Eaton Fire destroyed their house in Altadena, where they have lived for 30 years. The fire took her photo studio, her husband’s music studio, furniture, cars and family photos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A life erased,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re rebuilding with the help of their community and crowdfunding grants, but they don’t know if insurance will be available or how much it will cost in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999799\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999799\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The remains of a house in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“What truly angers me is knowing that this wasn’t just bad luck,” Ali said. “I’ve since learned that back in the ’80s, years before we bought our home, Exxon’s own scientists warned the effects of their products would be catastrophic. They chose to hide the truth and spend millions on PR campaigns that are still running today. They keep profiting while putting our communities in danger.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oil companies such as ExxonMobil had their own internal research \u003ca href=\"https://insideclimatenews.org/project/exxon-the-road-not-taken/\">decades ago\u003c/a> showing that burning fossil fuel would contribute to global warming, which intensifies extreme disasters like fires and floods. Publicly, however, they sought to undermine the science and cast doubt on the effects of human-caused climate change. Meanwhile, they have continued to \u003ca href=\"https://www.nypirg.org/pubs/202603/Big_Oil_Profits_Release_Draft_3.15.26.pdf\">rake in large profits\u003c/a> year after year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While so much of our community has lost everything — I mean everything — and so many families can barely afford food, let alone rebuild, the five largest oil corporations made nearly $400 billion in profit over the last three years,” Ali said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet right now, taxpayers and disaster survivors are the only ones paying for climate change, she said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“We have to ask, who’s not paying?” Wiener said while speaking in support of his bill. “We know that the victims, the survivors, are paying in profound ways. Taxpayers are paying. And of course, policyholders are paying with much higher premiums. Who’s not paying? The answer is the fossil fuel industry, the corporations whose products fueled this crisis by fueling climate change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill’s \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billCompareClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB982&showamends=false\">current version\u003c/a> is simplified from the proposal that Wiener and a colleague introduced last year, which would have allowed disaster survivors or insurance companies themselves to sue for damages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We heard the feedback [from last year],” Wiener said. “This bill is profoundly narrower.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the bill’s current version, the amount of damages sought in a civil action filed by the attorney general would be in proportion to a company’s market share. Any payouts would go to a newly created Attorney General Climate Disaster Fund and be distributed to policyholders; the California FAIR plan, which is the state’s insurer of last resort; the California Safe Homes grant program, which provides funding for fire-hardening work in high-risk areas; and to cover litigation costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industry opponents say the bill would raise gas prices and kill jobs. A \u003ca href=\"https://centerforjobs.org/wp-content/uploads/SB-982-Consumer-and-Economic-Impacts-Report.pdf\">report released\u003c/a> this month by the California Center for Jobs and the Economy details concerns ranging from higher premiums to less tax revenue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener rebutted these concerns, saying that gas is a global commodity, with prices set by worldwide market forces and not “the threat of hypothetical litigation,” and that the analyses ignore the benefits of payments to disaster survivors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Louise Bedsworth, executive director of UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment, spoke in support of the bill and pointed out that by the end of the century, the average area burned by wildfire in the state is projected to \u003ca href=\"https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/californias-mega-fires-have-arrived-30-years-early/\">increase by 77%\u003c/a> if emissions continue to rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Candidates vying for the position of state insurance commissioner in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/politics\">June primary election\u003c/a> met at a forum in downtown San Francisco on Thursday to make the case for why they’re right for the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The normally sleepy race is attracting a lot of attention as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/wildfires\">wildfires\u003c/a> and inflation have caused a crisis in the state’s home insurance market — where coverage can be both difficult to obtain and costly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s insurance commissioner has the primary job of setting the rules insurance companies need to follow in the state. It’s a role currently held by Ricardo Lara, who is termed out in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked about what would be considered a benchmark for success, state Sen. Ben Allen said with a laugh, “One real benchmark would be that there would be less interest in the insurance commissioners’ position. Because it’s always been kind of under-the-radar. It’s become so high-profile because of all the problems that we have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The future commissioner will need to balance requirements for insurance companies with being business-friendly enough that companies still want to sell policies in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000651\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000651\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steven Bradford (center), a former California state assemblymember and state senator, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They will also face widespread problems with the FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort, and concerns about how to keep a healthy insurance market amid the acceleration of climate-fueled disasters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think everyone wants the insurance Commissioner’s position to go back to just doing work as opposed to this existential crisis that we’re in right now,” Allen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most candidates expressed similar aims, with varying plans for how to achieve them. Ideas ranged from creating a public disaster insurance program to securing more money to help neighborhoods harden homes against fires.[aside postID=news_12068943 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/gettyimages-2192342554-2000x1333.jpeg']Eight candidates will be on the ballot for the June primary, with the top two advancing to the November general election. Five of those were in attendance at the Thursday forum hosted by SPUR, the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association — a nonprofit public policy organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Allen represents portions of Los Angeles that were affected by last year’s fires. He spoke of bills he’d authored to improve consumer and environmental protections, including Proposition 4, a $10 billion bond passed in 2024 that provides money for climate resilience, including wildfire prevention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He spoke of the need to focus on community-wide fire risk reduction and push insurance companies to better support customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steven Bradford, former State Assemblymember and Senator, highlighted the need to give the Department of Insurance more resources and more modern tools. He also spoke of wanting to have the department approve rate adjustments more quickly and for insurance companies to be more transparent in their rate-making.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000652\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000652\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Merritt Farren, an attorney and tech executive, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Merritt Farren, a media and technology executive, lost his home in LA during the fires and was part of fighting State Farm’s recent rate hikes in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He spoke of his experience working for Disney and Amazon, saying these companies could provide inspiration for simplifying the process of regulating and buying insurance and creating new tech jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also proposed a public reinsurance program, modeled after Florida’s catastrophe fund for hurricanes and the U.K.’s public–private reinsurance program for floods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jane Kim, a former San Francisco supervisor, perhaps had the most concrete suggestions for radical change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She proposed creating a single-payer public disaster insurance program run by the state, which would guarantee coverage and be modeled on programs in France, Spain and New Zealand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000653\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000653\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patrick Wolff, a financial analyst, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Beyond home insurance, she suggested expanding the low-cost nonprofit auto insurance program created by the legislature in 1999 and guaranteeing healthcare for every child in California. “I think California can do it,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patrick Wolff, a financial analyst, worked in the 2000s building an insurance brokerage for a bank, which, he said, gave him insights into how the industry operates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He suggested the FAIR Plan should have broader coverage and said the state was starting to make progress in allowing companies “to operate more economically and effectively, but there’s a lot more that needs to be done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Candidates vying for the position of state insurance commissioner in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/politics\">June primary election\u003c/a> met at a forum in downtown San Francisco on Thursday to make the case for why they’re right for the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The normally sleepy race is attracting a lot of attention as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/wildfires\">wildfires\u003c/a> and inflation have caused a crisis in the state’s home insurance market — where coverage can be both difficult to obtain and costly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s insurance commissioner has the primary job of setting the rules insurance companies need to follow in the state. It’s a role currently held by Ricardo Lara, who is termed out in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked about what would be considered a benchmark for success, state Sen. Ben Allen said with a laugh, “One real benchmark would be that there would be less interest in the insurance commissioners’ position. Because it’s always been kind of under-the-radar. It’s become so high-profile because of all the problems that we have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The future commissioner will need to balance requirements for insurance companies with being business-friendly enough that companies still want to sell policies in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000651\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000651\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steven Bradford (center), a former California state assemblymember and state senator, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They will also face widespread problems with the FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort, and concerns about how to keep a healthy insurance market amid the acceleration of climate-fueled disasters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think everyone wants the insurance Commissioner’s position to go back to just doing work as opposed to this existential crisis that we’re in right now,” Allen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most candidates expressed similar aims, with varying plans for how to achieve them. Ideas ranged from creating a public disaster insurance program to securing more money to help neighborhoods harden homes against fires.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Eight candidates will be on the ballot for the June primary, with the top two advancing to the November general election. Five of those were in attendance at the Thursday forum hosted by SPUR, the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association — a nonprofit public policy organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Allen represents portions of Los Angeles that were affected by last year’s fires. He spoke of bills he’d authored to improve consumer and environmental protections, including Proposition 4, a $10 billion bond passed in 2024 that provides money for climate resilience, including wildfire prevention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He spoke of the need to focus on community-wide fire risk reduction and push insurance companies to better support customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steven Bradford, former State Assemblymember and Senator, highlighted the need to give the Department of Insurance more resources and more modern tools. He also spoke of wanting to have the department approve rate adjustments more quickly and for insurance companies to be more transparent in their rate-making.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000652\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000652\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Merritt Farren, an attorney and tech executive, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Merritt Farren, a media and technology executive, lost his home in LA during the fires and was part of fighting State Farm’s recent rate hikes in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He spoke of his experience working for Disney and Amazon, saying these companies could provide inspiration for simplifying the process of regulating and buying insurance and creating new tech jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also proposed a public reinsurance program, modeled after Florida’s catastrophe fund for hurricanes and the U.K.’s public–private reinsurance program for floods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jane Kim, a former San Francisco supervisor, perhaps had the most concrete suggestions for radical change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She proposed creating a single-payer public disaster insurance program run by the state, which would guarantee coverage and be modeled on programs in France, Spain and New Zealand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000653\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000653\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patrick Wolff, a financial analyst, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Beyond home insurance, she suggested expanding the low-cost nonprofit auto insurance program created by the legislature in 1999 and guaranteeing healthcare for every child in California. “I think California can do it,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patrick Wolff, a financial analyst, worked in the 2000s building an insurance brokerage for a bank, which, he said, gave him insights into how the industry operates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He suggested the FAIR Plan should have broader coverage and said the state was starting to make progress in allowing companies “to operate more economically and effectively, but there’s a lot more that needs to be done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>After a streak of sunshine, forecasters said storms are likely to bring rain, potential thunderstorms, lightning and hail to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000594/cold-front-brings-bay-area-rain-sierra-nevada-snow\">the Bay Area\u003c/a> this week, with some snowfall in the Sierra Nevada.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thursday will remain mostly dry, but overcast with “a little more shower activity” across the North Bay, which indicates a low-pressure system is brewing, said Dylan Flynn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Friday is when the potential for rain and thunderstorms kicks up across the Bay Area, as the storm drifts over the Pacific Ocean toward the state. Flynn said the slow, erratic storm will hit the coast Friday, but it’s hard to say exactly where it will make landfall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It could be in San Luis Obispo, or it could be in downtown San Francisco, but someone’s going to be in the center of it. I just can’t say who,” Flynn said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said to expect widespread showers across the region “before the sun comes up” on Friday, with a 20%-30% chance of thunderstorms throughout the day. Flynn said to expect more rain and thunderstorms on Saturday, as the jet stream delivers a storm from the Gulf of Alaska into the region, colliding with Friday’s rain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to be heavy at times, but you might only get rain for 15 minutes and then three hours of dry conditions,” Flynn said. “Know how to protect yourself. When thunder roars, go indoors.”[aside postID=science_2000594 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/AprilWeatherShiftGetty.jpg']Depending on where the storms make landfall, Nicole Sarment wrote in the region’s daily forecast discussion that thunderstorm hazards could include “lightning, locally heavy rainfall, erratic/gusty winds, and small hail.” She also wrote that localized flooding is possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even if we don’t get thunderstorms, we’re going to have widespread rain showers through most of the day, again, peaking in the afternoon,” Flynn said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first storm will be too warm to accumulate any new snow in the Sierras, but the second storm could drop some powder later this weekend, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will continue to see snow melt over the next three days before potentially seeing some snow accumulation later on Saturday into Sunday,” Swain said during his YouTube office hours on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said snow levels will likely “fall down to at least 5,000 feet,” which could include all of the passes and Lake Tahoe. The National Weather Service’s Sacramento office wrote in its daily forecast discussion on Wednesday that up to 2 feet of snow could fall above 4,500 feet, with up to 4 feet over the highest peaks. The service issued a winter storm watch for the southern Cascades and Northern Sierra above 4,500 feet from 5 p.m. Friday through 11 p.m. Sunday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flynn said Sunday looks like it’ll be a transition day with scattered showers before returning to normal springtime weather by Monday. Next week’s weather, Flynn said, is a little up in the air, and there’s a nearly even chance for potential sunshine or rain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>After a streak of sunshine, forecasters said storms are likely to bring rain, potential thunderstorms, lightning and hail to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000594/cold-front-brings-bay-area-rain-sierra-nevada-snow\">the Bay Area\u003c/a> this week, with some snowfall in the Sierra Nevada.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thursday will remain mostly dry, but overcast with “a little more shower activity” across the North Bay, which indicates a low-pressure system is brewing, said Dylan Flynn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Friday is when the potential for rain and thunderstorms kicks up across the Bay Area, as the storm drifts over the Pacific Ocean toward the state. Flynn said the slow, erratic storm will hit the coast Friday, but it’s hard to say exactly where it will make landfall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It could be in San Luis Obispo, or it could be in downtown San Francisco, but someone’s going to be in the center of it. I just can’t say who,” Flynn said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said to expect widespread showers across the region “before the sun comes up” on Friday, with a 20%-30% chance of thunderstorms throughout the day. Flynn said to expect more rain and thunderstorms on Saturday, as the jet stream delivers a storm from the Gulf of Alaska into the region, colliding with Friday’s rain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to be heavy at times, but you might only get rain for 15 minutes and then three hours of dry conditions,” Flynn said. “Know how to protect yourself. When thunder roars, go indoors.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Depending on where the storms make landfall, Nicole Sarment wrote in the region’s daily forecast discussion that thunderstorm hazards could include “lightning, locally heavy rainfall, erratic/gusty winds, and small hail.” She also wrote that localized flooding is possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even if we don’t get thunderstorms, we’re going to have widespread rain showers through most of the day, again, peaking in the afternoon,” Flynn said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first storm will be too warm to accumulate any new snow in the Sierras, but the second storm could drop some powder later this weekend, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will continue to see snow melt over the next three days before potentially seeing some snow accumulation later on Saturday into Sunday,” Swain said during his YouTube office hours on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said snow levels will likely “fall down to at least 5,000 feet,” which could include all of the passes and Lake Tahoe. The National Weather Service’s Sacramento office wrote in its daily forecast discussion on Wednesday that up to 2 feet of snow could fall above 4,500 feet, with up to 4 feet over the highest peaks. The service issued a winter storm watch for the southern Cascades and Northern Sierra above 4,500 feet from 5 p.m. Friday through 11 p.m. Sunday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flynn said Sunday looks like it’ll be a transition day with scattered showers before returning to normal springtime weather by Monday. Next week’s weather, Flynn said, is a little up in the air, and there’s a nearly even chance for potential sunshine or rain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The warm weather that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078524/hunky-jesus-contest-2026-foxy-mary-dolores-park-sisters-of-perpetual-indulgence-san-francisco-history-easter-in-the-park-what-time-how-to-enter\">lit up Dolores Park\u003c/a> this weekend, where thousands celebrated the Hunky Jesus and Foxy Mary contest, is about to take a turn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>National Weather Service forecasters expect a cold front to move over the region, bringing cooler temperatures and rain across the Bay Area, with potential snow in the Sierra Nevada.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By Wednesday, temperatures will drop to normal springtime averages. Temperatures along the coast will be in the 60s and 70s inland, said Rachel Kennedy, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Bay Area office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s just not going to be as warm as it’s been recently,” Kennedy said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cold storm building from the Gulf of Alaska could also deliver about a quarter inch of rain in low-lying areas and up to three-quarters of an inch at higher elevations on Thursday and Friday, Kennedy said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It looks like we’re going to have a couple of rainy days in store for us at the end of this week and into the start of next week,” Kennedy said. “If you’re a rain lover, like me, then you’re happy about it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000538\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000538\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SnowSurveyApril1_3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SnowSurveyApril1_3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SnowSurveyApril1_3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SnowSurveyApril1_3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SnowSurveyApril1_3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Light snow is seen on the meadow where the California Department of Water Resources prepares to conduct the fourth media snow survey of the 2026 season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada on April 1, 2026. \u003ccite>(Andrew Nixon/California Department of Water Resources)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The frigid storm may add much-needed snow to the state’s meager snowpack, sitting at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000531/as-sierra-snowpack-dwindles-concern-mounts-over-fire-risk-and-water-management\">18% of normal\u003c/a> for this time of year. Dakari Anderson, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Sacramento office, said up to 10 inches of snow could fall on the highest peaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he notes, “we’re expecting a lesser amount than we saw with this last wave during a storm about a week ago.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anderson said it’s hard to say if the cooldown will last beyond the weekend. But when looking at the eight-to-10-day outlook, he expects above-average temperatures to return to the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re forecasting warmer temperatures,” Anderson said, “but exactly how warm? It would be a little bit hard to say right now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Warm weather in the Bay Area gives way to cooler temperatures and rain, along with snow in the Sierra Nevada, as a cold front moves over Northern California. \r\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The warm weather that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078524/hunky-jesus-contest-2026-foxy-mary-dolores-park-sisters-of-perpetual-indulgence-san-francisco-history-easter-in-the-park-what-time-how-to-enter\">lit up Dolores Park\u003c/a> this weekend, where thousands celebrated the Hunky Jesus and Foxy Mary contest, is about to take a turn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>National Weather Service forecasters expect a cold front to move over the region, bringing cooler temperatures and rain across the Bay Area, with potential snow in the Sierra Nevada.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By Wednesday, temperatures will drop to normal springtime averages. Temperatures along the coast will be in the 60s and 70s inland, said Rachel Kennedy, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Bay Area office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s just not going to be as warm as it’s been recently,” Kennedy said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cold storm building from the Gulf of Alaska could also deliver about a quarter inch of rain in low-lying areas and up to three-quarters of an inch at higher elevations on Thursday and Friday, Kennedy said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It looks like we’re going to have a couple of rainy days in store for us at the end of this week and into the start of next week,” Kennedy said. “If you’re a rain lover, like me, then you’re happy about it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000538\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000538\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SnowSurveyApril1_3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SnowSurveyApril1_3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SnowSurveyApril1_3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SnowSurveyApril1_3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/SnowSurveyApril1_3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Light snow is seen on the meadow where the California Department of Water Resources prepares to conduct the fourth media snow survey of the 2026 season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada on April 1, 2026. \u003ccite>(Andrew Nixon/California Department of Water Resources)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The frigid storm may add much-needed snow to the state’s meager snowpack, sitting at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000531/as-sierra-snowpack-dwindles-concern-mounts-over-fire-risk-and-water-management\">18% of normal\u003c/a> for this time of year. Dakari Anderson, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Sacramento office, said up to 10 inches of snow could fall on the highest peaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he notes, “we’re expecting a lesser amount than we saw with this last wave during a storm about a week ago.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anderson said it’s hard to say if the cooldown will last beyond the weekend. But when looking at the eight-to-10-day outlook, he expects above-average temperatures to return to the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re forecasting warmer temperatures,” Anderson said, “but exactly how warm? It would be a little bit hard to say right now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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}
