Description
DEADLINE EXTENDED UNTIL SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is publishing this Guidance for the Civil Nuclear Credit Program (CNC Program), enacted by Section 40323 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Public Law 117-58, signed November 15, 2021, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The IIJA is a once-in-a-generation investment in infrastructure, which will grow a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable economy through enhancing U.S. competitiveness in the world, creating good jobs, and ensuring stronger access to economic and other benefits for disadvantaged communities. The IIJA appropriates more than $62 billion to DOE to deliver a more equitable clean energy future for the American people. As part of this effort, the IIJA authorizes and appropriates $6 billion for Fiscal Years 2022 through 2026 to establish the CNC Program to prevent closures of nuclear power plants by providing financial support for existing Nuclear Reactors projected to cease operations due to economic factors. As implemented through this Guidance, the CNC Program will make meaningful progress towards a carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035, help “deliver an equitable, clean energy future, and put the United States on a path to achieve net-zero emissions, economy-wide, by no later than 2050” to the benefit of all Americans. Nuclear power currently provides 52 percent of the nation’s clean electricity, and the current fleet of reactors are a vital resource to achieve a 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035 and net-zero emissions economy-wide by 2050. Shifting energy markets and other economic factors have already resulted in the closure of 12 commercial reactors across the United States since 2013. These closures have led to an increase in carbon emissions, poorer air quality, and the loss of thousands of high-paying jobs. The CNC Program is a critical element of meeting clean energy goals by helping to preserve the existing nuclear fleet and the clean energy it provides. This Guidance describes the timelines, deliverables, and other requirements for Owners or Operators of Nuclear Reactors that are projected to cease operations due to economic factors to submit Certification Applications to be eligible to become Certified Nuclear Reactors, and instructions on formulating and submitting sealed Bids to be eligible to receive Credit allocations. This Guidance will clarify the certification criteria, application content requirements, evaluation process and methodologies, eligibility periods, and anticipated timeline of the CNC Program. This Guidance is applicable to the first in a series of annual Award Periods that DOE will conduct to implement the CNC Program. The first Award Period is limited to Nuclear Reactors that are projected to cease operations imminently and with a high degree of certainty. Accordingly, this Award Period will be implemented on a more rapid timeline than future Award Periods and will be limited to Nuclear Reactors that have already publicly announced their intention to cease operations. Future Award Periods—including for Award Period 2, which is estimated to commence in the first quarter of FY 2023—will be executed over a longer timeline and will not be limited to Nuclear Reactors that have publicly announced their intentions to cease operations. Nuclear reactors that are eligible to apply for the first Award Period but nonetheless wish to wait until the second Award Period are free to do so. For this Award Period, DOE is accepting Certification Applications and Bid submissions as a single submission from April 19, 2022, to September 6, 2022. Application information and Bid submissions must be submitted at https://proposalscnc.inl.gov by 23:59 MDT, September 6, 2022, or they will not be considered timely filed for the first Award Period and will not be evaluated. A detailed Certification Application and Bid submission checklist for Award Period 1 is included in APPENDIX A to this Guidance. DOE may revise the information requested and other aspects of the application process for future Award Periods, including additional consideration of emissions impact, labor, and environmental justice considerations.