Biden grants PG&E $1 billion to keep Diablo Canyon nuclear plant open
Aerial view of the Diablo Canyon, the only operational nuclear plant left in California, due to be shutdown in 2024 despite safely producing nearly 15% of the state’s green electrical energy power, is viewed in these aerial photos taken on December 1, 2021, near Avila Beach, California.
George Rose | Getty Images
The Biden administration on Monday said it’s providing Pacific Gas & Electric Co. with a $1.1 billion grant to help the company prevent the closure of Diablo Canyon, California’s last nuclear power plant.
Diablo Canyon was originally scheduled to be decommissioned in two phases in 2024 and 2025, but state lawmakers in September voted to keep it open for five more years. PG&E applied for funding in the Department of Energy’s initial phase of the $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit program aimed to keep U.S. nuclear power reactors open.
The conditional funding, which comes from the bipartisan infrastructure law passed by Congress last year, creates a path forward for Diablo Canyon to remain open and could allow PG&E to pay back some of the $1.4 billion loan for the plant that lawmakers approved.
Diablo Canyon is California’s single largest source of power, providing 8.6% of the state’s total electricity and 17% of its zero-carbon electricity. It has helped the state grapple with power shortages as temperatures in California continue to rise and heat waves grow more intense with climate change.
“This is a critical step toward ensuring that our domestic nuclear fleet will continue providing reliable and affordable power to Americans as the nation’s largest source of clean electricity,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.
However, critics of Diablo Canyon have pointed out that the plant, which is located next to the Pacific Ocean in San Luis Obispo County, is vulnerable to earthquakes and that there is no permanent waste disposal solution.
Final terms of the grant are subject to negotiation and finalization, the Energy Department said, but the funding is designed to cover PG&E’s anticipated losses from keeping Diablo Canyon open. Not every plant that applied to the Energy Department’s program is receiving funding in this initial phase.
The Biden administration has argued that nuclear power is vital to fighting climate change and to helping it achieve its commitment of 100% clean electricity by 2035 and a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.
“Nuclear energy will help us meet President Biden’s climate goals, and with these historic investments in clean energy, we can protect these facilities and the communities they serve,” Granholm said.
Nuclear power provides 50% of the country’s carbon-free electricity, but shifting energy markets and other economic factors have resulted in the early closures of 13 commercial reactors since 2013, the Energy Department said.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said in a statement that keeping the Diablo Canyon plant open is necessary for the state to meet its clean energy goals while continuing to supply reliable power. Feinstein said she would monitor the funding process to ensure strict safety and environmental reviews are undertaken at the federal and state levels.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement that the grant will provide a limited-term extension of the plant and “support reliability statewide and provide an onramp for more clean energy projects to come online.”
Chinese electric scooter manufacturer NIU Technologies (NASDAQ: NIU) is experiencing a remarkable surge in 2025, with its stock price nearly doubling year-to-date. This impressive performance is fueled by a significant increase in electric moped sales, particularly within its domestic market, despite facing challenges such as international tariffs and rising freight costs.
Domestic market is driving growth
In the first quarter of 2025, NIU reported a 57.4% year-over-year increase in e-scooter sales, totaling 203,313 units. Notably, 183,065 of these units were sold in China, marking a 66.2% increase compared to the same period last year.
This domestic growth was boosted by China’s consumer trade-in program, which incentivizes the replacement of older scooters with newer, more efficient models.
The company’s revenue for Q1 2025 reached RMB 682.0 million (approximately US $94 million), a 35.1% increase from the previous year. However, the average revenue per e-scooter decreased by 14.2% to RMB 3,354, indicating a shift towards more affordable models.
NIU CEO Yan Li explained: “In China, we are advancing our intelligent product development strategy by integrating automotive-grade technologies such as millimeter-wave radar, dual-channel ABS, and AI Smart Ecosystem to enhance the user experience. Our retail network has continued to expand in-line with our expectations, with new stores opening during the quarter. This synergistic combination of product innovation and omni-channel growth is driving measurable increases in domestic sales and market penetration.”
International challenges remain
While domestic sales certainly provided strong tailwinds for NIU, international markets still present challenges for the company. Sales outside China grew by a modest 6.4%, totaling 20,248 units. Factors such as US tariffs and increased freight costs were noted in NIU’s Q1 2025 earnings report as impacting international margins. Despite these hurdles, international sales contributed RMB 60 million (approximately US $8 million) to the quarterly revenue, a 22.4% increase year-over-year.
NIU’s gross margin declined to 17.3% from 18.9% in the same quarter last year, reflecting the pressure from international trade policies and logistics costs. Nevertheless, the company’s net loss narrowed to RMB 38.8 million, down from RMB 54.8 million in Q1 2024, indicating improved operational efficiency. While still operating at a net loss of around US 5.4 million, these numbers indicate a strong turnaround for the company – reflected by the nearly doubling of NIU’s stock price so far in 2025.
Looking ahead, NIU is anticipating continued growth and projecting Q2 2025 revenue to increase by 40% to 50% year-over-year. The company says it is also exploring strategies to mitigate international challenges, such as diversifying its production and focusing on markets less affected by tariffs.
As Li continued, “Globally, the market is undergoing structural shifts, with US trade policies experiencing increased volatility. However, we are leveraging innovation and agile infrastructure to mitigate geopolitical challenges, enabling sustainable global growth through proactive production adjustments.”
Electrek’s Take
If you’re a NIU fan like I am, this is great news that helps claw back some of the losses seen in the last couple of years. The entire micromobility sector has navigated choppy waters after the pandemic bubble burst, and NIU was certainly not immune to the drop in sales. But these numbers paint a promising return that industry analysts and scooter riders who depend on the company alike have been hoping for.
I visited NIU’s factory a few months ago and saw firsthand how much care and precision goes into building its millions of electric two-wheelers. That kind of in-depth look is rare in this industry, and it gave me keen insight into what separates NIU’s high-tech and high-design models from much of the industry.
Now it seems that sales are starting to catch back up to where such innovative pieces of tech deserve to be. Here’s to hoping for another good quarter to follow.
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On today’s sunny side up episode of Quick Charge, we take a look at the latest from the world of solar power, and discuss Congressional Republicans’ plans to limit your energy independence by eliminating a critical tax credit for homeowners nearly ten years early. (!)
We’ve also got a quick review of a massive solar farm powering 200,000 homes in Indiana and the biggest solar project East of the Mississippi – both part of a record 98% of all new power generation and grid capacity introduced in 2025 coming from wind and solar. Those are jobs, those are lower utility rates, those are energy independence … so why are Congressional Republicans working to make that more expensive?
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If you want to read that EnergySage report on the state of the home solar industry, including news about battery energy storage system and V2H/V2G prices and financing trends, you can check it out for yourself, below, then let us know what you think in the comments.
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If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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A Waymo autonomous vehicle drives along Masonic Avenue on April 11, 2022 in San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Alphabet’s Waymo unit has received approval to expand its autonomous ride-hailing service to more parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, including San Jose.
In March, the company submitted a request to the California Public Utilities Commission to gain approval for its latest passenger safety plan, a key step in gaining permission to operate driverless vehicles across a broader area. On Monday, the proposed expansion was approved, allowing for Waymo’s driverless coverage to extend from San Francisco down through the Peninsula.
“We’re very excited to share that the CPUC has approved our application to operate our fully autonomous commercial ride-hailing service in the South Bay and nearly all of San Jose!” the company wrote in a post on X on Monday. “While this won’t change our operations in the near-term, we’re looking forward to bringing the benefits of Waymo One to more of the Bay Area in the future.”
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