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The California nuclear moratorium should become a thing of the past

April 26, 2026

Just as there is nothing as permanent as a temporary government program, there is often nothing as permanent as a temporary moratorium. California knows this all too well. The state’s nuclear moratorium was signed into law 50 years ago as part of a 1976 amendment to the Warren-Alquist Act and has remained in effect ever since.

The time is ripe for the removal of this nonsensical ban. As I argue in a policy report titled “Ensuring Reliability in California: Why the Nuclear Ban Must Go”, nuclear power perfectly suits the needs of the California power grid. Nuclear power is one of the most reliable forms of power generation with the highest capacity factor of any source (meaning it operates at full capacity the most often). It is also incredibly safe as well as carbon free at the point of generation. Because of this, it is one of the few technologies that could allow California to maintain a reliable power grid while also meeting its Net Zero. But to realistically meet that goal, under the state’s renewable portfolio standard which requires 100 percent renewables by 2045, the state would need to amend the standard to include nuclear power.

As power demand from data centers for artificial intelligence rises, nuclear energy makes even more sense for California. Technology companies that often have their headquarters in Silicon Valley are signing deals with nuclear companies to build or restart nuclear reactors in other states. California is currently unable to capitalize on these developments, even when the ideas for them come from within the state.

The state is also heavily reliant on electric power imports, importing 62,157 gigawatt hours of power in 2024 with 15 percent of those imports coming from nuclear power plants in other states. California imported more power than any state but Virginia that year. This level of reliance on imports leaves the state vulnerable when power demand is high, because the conditions that cause high power demand are likely to also be occurring in the states they’re importing from. For example, when it’s extremely hot in California, it’s also very hot in Arizona, and they’re less likely to have power to export.

The state’s high imports also play a role in its high prices. California has higher electricity prices than every state but Hawaii, which has far more reason for its high prices given its isolated geography. California’s average residential power price for April was 33.75 cents per kilowatt hour while the national average was 18.05 cents. Prices that are 87 percent above the national average in a state without unique geographic limitations is in large part a result of poor policy choices including the nuclear moratorium. A state with such high electricity prices is making a serious mistake in forsaking an entire category of generation.

Other states have realized the folly of their own nuclear moratoria in recent years. In the last decade, five states, Kentucky, Montana, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Illinois have removed their nuclear power bans. California is one of just 11 states to maintain a full or partial ban on new nuclear power.

As power demand rises, states that limit their ability to use reliable power sources are unnecessarily limiting their ability to grow and reliably meet demand. California can’t afford to preclude the use of reliable power. As power demand rises, this only becomes clearer.

Different power plants have different beneficial attributes, and nuclear power plants are especially adept at meeting round the clock demand. In the data center age, this is a beneficial attribute indeed, and one that California should free itself to utilize.

The nuclear moratorium didn’t make sense when it became law, but in the interim nuclear power has only become safer, and the need for reliable power has only grown. California should remove this moratorium.

Paige Lambermont is the author of “Ensuring Reliability in California: Why the Nuclear Ban Must Go.” She is a Research Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in the Center for Energy and Environment, and a Policy Fellow at the Independent Institute.

Orange County Register

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The California nuclear moratorium should become a thing of the past

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