42 U.S.C. § 18753 — Civil nuclear credit program

Page 9225 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 18753 (C) any other project for which Federal funding is provided under the Advanced Re- actor Demonstration Program of the Depart- ment; or (D) a project— (i) relating to advanced nuclear reactors; and (ii) for which Federal funding is provided under a program focused on development and demonstration. (4) Retroactive vesting The vesting of fee title or any other property interest assigned under paragraph (2) shall be retroactive to the date on which the applica- ble project first received Federal funding as described in any of subparagraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (3). (Pub. L. 117–58, div. D, title III, § 40322(a), Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 1017.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, referred to in subsec. (a)(3)(B), is Pub. L. 116–94, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 2534. Title III of division C of the Act is title III of div. C of Pub. L. 116–94, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 2669, which enacted section 825s–8 of Title 16, Con- servation, and provisions set out as notes under section 6939f of this title and 838i of Title 16, and provisions set out in a table under sections 6241 and 7171 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries WAGE RATE REQUIREMENTS For provisions relating to rates of wages to be paid to laborers and mechanics on projects for construction, alteration, or repair work funded under div. D or an amendment by div. D of Pub. L. 117–58, including au- thority of Secretary of Labor, see section 18851 of this title. § 18753. Civil nuclear credit program (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Certified nuclear reactor The term ‘‘certified nuclear reactor’’ means a nuclear reactor that— (A) competes in a competitive electricity market; and (B) is certified under subsection (c)(2)(A)(i) to submit a sealed bid in accordance with subsection (d). (2) Credit The term ‘‘credit’’ means a credit allocated to a certified nuclear reactor under subsection (e)(2). (b) Establishment of program The Secretary shall establish a civil nuclear credit program— (1) to evaluate nuclear reactors that are pro- jected to cease operations due to economic factors; and (2) to allocate credits to certified nuclear re- actors that are selected under paragraph (1)(B) of subsection (e) to receive credits under para- graph (2) of that subsection. (c) Certification (1) Application (A) In general In order to be certified under paragraph (2)(A)(i), the owner or operator of a nuclear reactor that is projected to cease operations due to economic factors shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such informa- tion as the Secretary determines to be ap- propriate, including— (i) information on the operating costs necessary to make the determination de- scribed in paragraph (2)(A)(ii)(I), includ- ing— (I) the average projected annual oper- ating loss in dollars per megawatt-hour, inclusive of the cost of operational and market risks, expected to be incurred by the nuclear reactor over the 4-year pe- riod for which credits would be allo- cated; (II) any private or publicly available data with respect to current or projected bulk power market prices; (III) out-of-market revenue streams; (IV) operations and maintenance costs; (V) capital costs, including fuel; and (VI) operational and market risks; (ii) an estimate of the potential incre- mental air pollutants that would result if the nuclear reactor were to cease oper- ations; (iii) known information on the source of produced uranium and the location where the uranium is converted, enriched, and fabricated into fuel assemblies for the nu- clear reactor for the 4-year period for which credits would be allocated; and (iv) a detailed plan to sustain operations at the conclusion of the applicable 4-year period for which credits would be allo- cated— (I) without receiving additional cred- its; or (II) with the receipt of additional cred- its of a lower amount than the credits al- located during that 4-year credit period. (B) Timeline The Secretary shall accept applications described in subparagraph (A)— (i) until the date that is 120 days after November 15, 2021; and (ii) not less frequently than every year thereafter. (C) Payments from State programs (i) In general The owner or operator of a nuclear reac- tor that receives a payment from a State zero-emission credit, a State clean energy contract, or any other State program with respect to that nuclear reactor shall be eli- gible to submit an application under sub- paragraph (A) with respect to that nuclear reactor during any application period be- ginning after the 120-day period beginning on November 15, 2021. (ii) Requirement An application submitted by an owner or operator described in clause (i) with re- Page 9226 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 18753 1 So in original. Probably should be followed by a second clos- ing parenthesis. spect to a nuclear reactor described in that clause shall include all projected pay- ments from State programs in determining the average projected annual operating loss described in subparagraph (A)(i)(I), unless the credits allocated to the nuclear reactor pursuant to that application will be used to reduce those payments. (2) Determination to certify (A) Determination (i) In general Not later than 60 days after the applica- ble date under subparagraph (B) of para- graph (1), the Secretary shall determine whether to certify, in accordance with clauses (ii) and (iii), each nuclear reactor for which an application is submitted under subparagraph (A) of that paragraph. (ii) Minimum requirements To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall only certify a nuclear re- actor under clause (i) if— (I) after considering the information submitted under paragraph (1)(A)(i), the Secretary determines that the nuclear reactor is projected to cease operations due to economic factors; (II) after considering the estimate sub- mitted under paragraph (1)(A)(ii), the Secretary determines that pollutants would increase if the nuclear reactor were to cease operations and be replaced with other types of power generation; and (III) the Nuclear Regulatory Commis- sion has reasonable assurance that the nuclear reactor— (aa) will continue to be operated in accordance with the current licensing basis (as defined in section 54.3 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (or suc- cessor regulations) 1 of the nuclear re- actor; and (bb) poses no significant safety haz- ards. (iii) Priority In determining whether to certify a nu- clear reactor under clause (i), the Sec- retary shall give priority to a nuclear re- actor that uses, to the maximum extent available, uranium that is produced, con- verted, enriched, and fabricated into fuel assemblies in the United States. (B) Notice For each application received under para- graph (1)(A), the Secretary shall provide to the applicable owner or operator, as applica- ble— (i) a notice of the certification of the ap- plicable nuclear reactor; or (ii) a notice that describes the reasons why the certification of the applicable nu- clear reactor was denied. (d) Bidding process (1) In general Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary shall establish a deadline by which each certified nuclear reactor shall submit to the Secretary a sealed bid that— (A) describes the price per megawatt-hour of the credits desired by the certified nu- clear reactor, which shall not exceed the av- erage projected annual operating loss de- scribed in subsection (c)(1)(A)(i)(I); and (B) includes a commitment, subject to the receipt of credits, to provide a specific num- ber of megawatt-hours of generation during the 4-year period for which credits would be allocated. (2) Requirement The deadline established under paragraph (1) shall be not later than 30 days after the first date on which the Secretary has made the de- termination described in paragraph (2)(A)(i) of subsection (c) with respect to each application submitted under paragraph (1)(A) of that sub- section. (e) Allocation (1) Auction Notwithstanding section 2209 of this title, the Secretary shall— (A) in consultation with the heads of appli- cable Federal agencies, establish a process for evaluating bids submitted under sub- section (d)(1) through an auction process; and (B) select certified nuclear reactors to be allocated credits. (2) Credits Subject to subsection (f)(2), on selection under paragraph (1), a certified nuclear reac- tor shall be allocated credits for a 4-year pe- riod beginning on the date of the selection. (3) Requirement To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall use the amounts made avail- able for credits under this section to allocate credits to as many certified nuclear reactors as possible. (f) Renewal (1) In general The owner or operator of a certified nuclear reactor may seek to recertify the nuclear re- actor in accordance with this section. (2) Limitation Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the Secretary may not allocate any credits after September 30, 2031. (g) Additional requirements (1) Audit During the 4-year period beginning on the date on which a certified nuclear reactor first receives a credit, the Secretary shall periodi- cally audit the certified nuclear reactor. (2) Recapture The Secretary shall, by regulation, provide for the recapture of the allocation of any cred- Page 9227 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 18761 it to a certified nuclear reactor that, during the period described in paragraph (1)— (A) terminates operations; or (B) does not operate at an annual loss in the absence of an allocation of credits to the certified nuclear reactor. (3) Confidentiality The Secretary shall establish procedures to ensure that any confidential, private, propri- etary, or privileged information that is in- cluded in a sealed bid submitted under this section is not publicly disclosed or otherwise improperly used. (h) Report Not later than January 1, 2024, the Comp- troller General of the United States shall sub- mit to Congress a report with respect to the credits allocated to certified nuclear reactors, which shall include— (1) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the credits in avoiding air pollutants while ensur- ing grid reliability; (2) a quantification of the ratepayer savings achieved under this section; and (3) any recommendations to renew or expand the credits. (i) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $6,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. (Pub. L. 117–58, div. D, title III, § 40323, Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 1019.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries WAGE RATE REQUIREMENTS For provisions relating to rates of wages to be paid to laborers and mechanics on projects for construction, alteration, or repair work funded under div. D or an amendment by div. D of Pub. L. 117–58, including au- thority of Secretary of Labor, see section 18851 of this title. PART B—MISCELLANEOUS § 18761. Clean energy demonstration program on current and former mine land (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Clean energy project The term ‘‘clean energy project’’ means a project that demonstrates 1 or more of the fol- lowing technologies: (A) Solar. (B) Micro-grids. (C) Geothermal. (D) Direct air capture. (E) Fossil-fueled electricity generation with carbon capture, utilization, and seques- tration. (F) Energy storage, including pumped stor- age hydropower and compressed air storage. (G) Advanced nuclear technologies. (2) Economically distressed area The term ‘‘economically distressed area’’ means an area described in section 3161(a) of this title. (3) Mine land The term ‘‘mine land’’ means— (A) land subject to titles IV and V of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1231 et seq.; 30 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); and (B) land that has been claimed or patented subject to sections 2319 through 2344 of the Revised Statutes (commonly known as the ‘‘Mining Law of 1872’’) (30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.). (4) Program The term ‘‘program’’ means the demonstra- tion program established under subsection (b). (b) Establishment The Secretary shall establish a program to demonstrate the technical and economic viabil- ity of carrying out clean energy projects on cur- rent and former mine land. (c) Selection of demonstration projects (1) In general In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall select not more than 5 clean energy projects, to be carried out in geographically diverse regions, at least 2 of which shall be solar projects. (2) Eligibility To be eligible to be selected for participa- tion in the program under paragraph (1), a clean energy project shall demonstrate, as de- termined by the Secretary, a technology on a current or former mine land site with a rea- sonable expectation of commercial viability. (3) Priority In selecting clean energy projects for par- ticipation in the program under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall prioritize clean energy projects that will— (A) be carried out in a location where the greatest number of jobs can be created from the successful demonstration of the clean energy project; (B) provide the greatest net impact in avoiding or reducing greenhouse gas emis- sions; (C) provide the greatest domestic job cre- ation (both directly and indirectly) during the implementation of the clean energy project; (D) provide the greatest job creation and economic development in the vicinity of the clean energy project, particularly— (i) in economically distressed areas; and (ii) with respect to dislocated workers who were previously employed in manufac- turing, coal power plants, or coal mining; (E) have the greatest potential for techno- logical innovation and commercial deploy- ment; (F) have the lowest levelized cost of gen- erated or stored energy; (G) have the lowest rate of greenhouse gas emissions per unit of electricity generated or stored; and (H) have the shortest project time from permitting to completion. (4) Project selection The Secretary shall solicit proposals for clean energy projects and select clean energy