California, Long Leery of Nuclear Power, Joins Bid to Save It

The push to make nuclear power a key tool to fight climate change is getting a boost from one of the most unlikely places on Earth: California.

The state, birthplace of the US anti-nuclear movement, is reconsidering plans to close its only remaining set of reactors as California struggles to run its power grid with fewer fossil-fuel plants. It’s a stunning reversal, coming after a decades-long drive to shutter PG&E Corp.’s Diablo Canyon nuclear plant over fears it’s one earthquake away from catastrophe.

While the facility’s fate remains uncertain, the fact that solar- and wind-loving California is even talking about extending its life ...