[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 188 (Friday, September 27, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79281-79283]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22046]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Request for Information To Release a Solicitation for 
Certification and Allocation of Credits Under the Civil Nuclear Credit 
Program

AGENCY: Grid Deployment Office, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Request for information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) is 
issuing this RFI to request information from interested parties of 
DOE's intent to release a solicitation for applications, and to seek 
advance notice of an intent to submit applications in the form of a 
Letter of Interest (LOI), from nuclear reactor owners or operators for 
certification and allocation of credits

[[Page 79282]]

under the Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) Program to support nuclear 
reactors at risk of ceasing operations due to economic factors. In the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Congress directed the Secretary 
of Energy (Secretary) to establish a CNC Program to evaluate and 
certify nuclear reactors that are projected to cease operations due to 
economic factors and to allocate credits to selected certified nuclear 
reactors via a sealed bid process.

DATES: Submission of LOIs is requested on or before October 28, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit an LOI as an attachment by 
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9eddd0ddc1ceecf1f9ecfff3c1d3fff7f2fcf1e6def6efb0faf1fbb0f9f1e8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3f7c717c606f4d50584d5e5260725e56535d50477f574e115b505a11585049">[email protected]</span></a>.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
questions about the RFI may be sent to Theodore Taylor, Civil Nuclear 
Credit Program Manager, at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#25666b667a75574a425744487a68444c49474a5d654d540b414a400b424a53"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="efaca1acb0bf9d80889d8e82b0a28e86838d8097af879ec18b808ac1888099">[email protected]</span></a> or at (202) 
586-4316.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background and Program Description

    As energy markets and economic circumstances continue to shift, the 
United States has lost approximately 10,200 megawatts of nuclear energy 
capacity with the premature closures of 13 commercial reactors.\1\ 
These closures have led to an increase in carbon emissions, poorer air 
quality, and the loss of thousands of high-paying jobs. Further 
closures threaten to exacerbate these issues. In November 2021, 
Congress appropriated funds under the Infrastructure Investment and 
Jobs Act (IIJA) (Pub. L. 117-58), codified at 42 U.S.C. 18753, to 
allocate credits to certified nuclear reactors to prevent closure due 
to economic factors. In addition to the CNC Program, Congress also 
appropriated funds in August 2022 under Section 13105 of the Inflation 
Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) (Pub. L. 117-169), codified at 26 U.S.C. 
45U for the zero-emission nuclear power production tax credit that 
provides up to an inflation-adjusted $15 per megawatt-hour for 
electricity produced. The CNC Program also advances the President's 
Justice40 Initiative,\2\ which sets a goal that 40 percent of the 
overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy, affordable 
and sustainable housing, and other investments flow to disadvantaged 
communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened 
by pollution.\3\ In the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, Congress 
repurposed an aggregate amount of up to $3.72 billion in the CNC 
Program's unobligated balances appropriated under the IIJA to carry out 
nuclear programs supporting small modular reactors and a uranium 
strategy pursuant to the Nuclear Fuel Security Act of 2023.\4\
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    \1\ Congressional Research Serv., R46820, U.S. Nuclear Plant 
Shutdowns, State Interventions, and Policy Concerns, (Updated 2/7/
22, available at https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46820. Note that Palisades Nuclear Power Plant has not yet closed 
but is not producing power.
    \2\ https://www.whitehouse.gov/environmentaljustice/justice40.
    \3\ White House, Justice40 Covered Programs List (Nov. 2023), 
available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Justice40-Initiative-Covered-Programs-List_v2.0_11.23_FINAL.pdf.
    \4\ See Section 3131 of the National Defense Authorization Act 
for Fiscal Year 2024, Public Law 118-31 (Dec. 22, 2023).
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    CNC Award Cycles 1 and 2 were released in 2022 and 2023, 
respectively. Under the CNC Program, DOE certifies operating nuclear 
reactors projected to cease operations due to economic factors and 
whose closure would result in a projected increase in air pollutants, 
if the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has reasonable assurance the 
reactor will continue to operate safely. Certification of eligibility 
to apply for credits requires that the nuclear reactor meet certain 
economic and other criteria. The CNC Program identifies specific 
eligibility criteria and provides discretion for the Secretary to 
define additional eligibility criteria for certification of the 
qualifying nuclear reactor. Credits will be awarded over a four-year 
period beginning on the date of the selection. Nuclear reactor owners 
or operators may apply for recertification after that time and 
additional credits may be allocated through September 30, 2031, subject 
to the availability of funds.
    More detailed information about the CNC Program can be found at 
https://www.energy.gov/gdo/civil-nuclear-credit-program.

Purpose

    Subject to availability of funds, DOE is planning up to $980 
million for Award Cycle 3. Prior to releasing the Guidance for Award 
Cycle 3, DOE is requesting that nuclear reactor owners or operators 
interested in applying for certification and allocation of credits 
under the CNC Program provide advance notice of intent to apply in the 
form of a Letter of Interest (LOI) to be submitted no later than 30 
days after this RFI notice. Submissions of LOIs that comply with 
relevant requirements, as outlined in the Business Proprietary 
Information section will be kept strictly confidential.
    LOI responses shall include:

<bullet> Name(s), phone number(s), and email address(es) for the 
principal point(s) of contact
<bullet> Institution or organization affiliation and postal address
<bullet> Organization's non-binding expression of interest in applying 
to the CNC Program Award Cycle 3
<bullet> Names of each nuclear reactor for which an owner/operator is 
intending to apply for certification and allocation of credits under 
the CNC Program

    The responses received from nuclear reactors owners or operators 
will assist DOE in assessing the CNC Program's timing and resources for 
Award Cycle 3. Any information obtained as a result of this RFI is 
intended to be used by DOE on a non-attribution basis for planning and 
strategy development; this RFI does not constitute a formal 
solicitation for applications. No application submittals are required 
at this time. Responses to this RFI will be treated as information 
only. Respondents are advised that DOE is under no obligation to 
acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to 
respondents with respect to any information submitted under this RFI. 
Responses to this RFI do not bind DOE to any further actions related to 
this topic.
    An LOI containing the required information as stated in this 
section will be marked confidential as described in the Business 
Proprietary Information section.

Business Proprietary Information

    Responses containing confidential, proprietary, or privileged 
information must be conspicuously marked as described in this section. 
Failure to comply with these marking requirements may result in the 
disclosure of the unmarked information under the Freedom of Information 
Act or otherwise. The U.S. Federal Government is not liable for the 
disclosure or use of unmarked information and may use or disclose such 
information for any purpose.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 1004.11, any person submitting information 
believed to be business proprietary and exempt by law from public 
disclosure should submit via email two well-marked copies: One copy of 
the document marked ``Business Proprietary'' including all the 
information believed to be proprietary, and one copy of the document 
marked ``non-Proprietary'' deleting all information believed to be 
business proprietary. DOE will make its own determination about the 
business proprietary status of the information and treat it according 
to its

[[Page 79283]]

determination. Factors of interest to DOE when evaluating requests to 
treat submitted information as business proprietary include: (1) a 
description of the items; (2) whether and why such items are 
customarily treated as business proprietary within the industry; (3) 
whether the information is generally known by or available from other 
sources; (4) whether the information has previously been made available 
to others without obligation concerning its business proprietary 
nature; (5) an explanation of the competitive injury to the submitting 
person which would result from public disclosure; (6) when such 
information might lose its business proprietary character due to the 
passage of time; and (7) why disclosure of the information would be 
contrary to the public interest.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on September 
20, 2024, by Maria D. Robinson, Director, Grid Deployment Office, 
pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of Energy. That 
document with the original signature and date is maintained by DOE. For 
administrative purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of 
the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE Federal 
Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit the 
document in electronic format for publication, as an official document 
of the Department of Energy. This administrative process in no way 
alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the 
Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on September 23, 2024.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2024-22046 Filed 9-26-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P


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