II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2291 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a tax credit 

for production of electricity using nuclear power. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2021 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. CARPER, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and 

Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish 

a tax credit for production of electricity using nuclear power. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Zero-Emission Nuclear 

5 Power Production Credit Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ZERO-EMISSION NUCLEAR POWER PRODUCTION 

7 CREDIT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub9 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 2291 IS

1 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

2 section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 45U. ZERO-EMISSION NUCLEAR POWER PRODUCTION 

4 CREDIT. 

5 ‘‘(a) AMOUNT OF CREDIT.—For purposes of section 

6 38, the zero-emission nuclear power production credit for 

7 any taxable year is an amount equal to the amount by 

8 which— 

9 ‘‘(1) the product of— 

10 ‘‘(A) 1.5 cents, multiplied by 

11 ‘‘(B) the kilowatt hours of electricity— 

12 ‘‘(i) produced by the taxpayer at a 

13 qualified nuclear power facility, and 

14 ‘‘(ii) sold by the taxpayer to an unre15 lated person during the taxable year, ex16 ceeds 

17 ‘‘(2) the reduction amount for such taxable 

18 year. 

19 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED NUCLEAR POWER FACILITY.— 

21 For purposes of this section, the term ‘qualified nu22 clear power facility’ means any nuclear facility— 

23 ‘‘(A) which is owned by the taxpayer and 

24 which uses nuclear energy to produce elec25 tricity, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 2291 IS

1 ‘‘(B) which is not described in section 

2 168(i)(10), and 

3 ‘‘(C) which is not an advanced nuclear 

4 power facility, as defined in subsection (d)(1) of 

5 section 45J, or which has not received an allo6 cation under subsection (b) of such section. 

7 ‘‘(2) REDUCTION AMOUNT.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

9 section, the term ‘reduction amount’ means, 

10 with respect to any qualified nuclear power fa11 cility for any taxable year, the amount equal to 

12 the lesser of— 

13 ‘‘(i) the amount determined under 

14 subsection (a)(1), or 

15 ‘‘(ii) the amount equal to 80 percent 

16 of the excess of— 

17 ‘‘(I) subject to subparagraph (B), 

18 the gross receipts from any electricity 

19 produced by such facility and sold to 

20 an unrelated person during such tax21 able year, over 

22 ‘‘(II) the amount equal to the 

23 product of— 

24 ‘‘(aa) 2.5 cents, multiplied 

25 by 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 2291 IS

1 ‘‘(bb) the amount deter2 mined under subsection 

3 (a)(1)(B). 

4 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN RE5 CEIPTS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The amount de7 termined under subparagraph (A)(ii)(I) 

8 shall include any amount received by the 

9 taxpayer during the taxable year with re10 spect to the qualified nuclear power facility 

11 from a zero-emission credit program unless 

12 the amount received by the taxpayer is 

13 subject to reduction— 

14 ‘‘(I) by the full amount of the 

15 credit determined under this section, 

16 or 

17 ‘‘(II) by any lesser amount if 

18 such amount entirely offsets the 

19 amount received from a zero-emission 

20 credit program. 

21 ‘‘(ii) ZERO-EMISSION CREDIT PRO22 GRAM.—For purposes of this subpara23 graph, the term ‘zero-emission credit pro24 gram’ means any State or local govern25 ment program that provides payments to a 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 2291 IS

1 qualified nuclear power facility for, in 

2 whole or in part, the zero-emission, zero3 carbon, or air quality attributes of any 

4 portion of the electricity produced by such 

5 facility. 

6 ‘‘(3) ELECTRICITY.—For purposes of this sec7 tion (with the exception of subsection (d)(3)), the 

8 term ‘electricity’ means the energy produced by a 

9 qualified nuclear power facility from the conversion 

10 of nuclear fuel into electric power. 

11 ‘‘(c) ELECTION FOR DIRECT PAYMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a taxpayer 

13 making an election (at such time and in such man14 ner as the Secretary may provide) under this sub15 section with respect to any portion of the credit 

16 which would (without regard to this subsection) be 

17 determined under subsection (a) with respect to such 

18 taxpayer, such taxpayer shall be treated as making 

19 a payment against the tax imposed by subtitle A for 

20 the taxable year equal to the amount of such por21 tion. 

22 ‘‘(2) TIMING.—The payment described in para23 graph (1) shall be treated as made on the later of 

24 the due date of the return of tax for the taxable year 

25 or the date on which such return is filed. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 2291 IS

1 ‘‘(3) EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME.—Gross 

2 income of the taxpayer shall be determined without 

3 regard to this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(4) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—Solely for 

5 purposes of section 38, in the case of a taxpayer 

6 making an election under this subsection, the credit 

7 determined under subsection (a) shall be reduced by 

8 the amount of the portion of such credit with respect 

9 to which the taxpayer makes such election. 

10 ‘‘(5) EXCLUSION OF TAX-EXEMPT ENTITIES.— 

11 This subsection shall not apply to any entity de12 scribed in section 168(h)(2). 

13 ‘‘(d) OTHER RULES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—In the case of 

15 calendar years beginning after 2021, the 1.5 cent 

16 amount in subsection (a)(1)(A) and the 2.5 cent 

17 amount in subsection (b)(2)(A)(ii)(II)(aa) shall each 

18 be adjusted by multiplying such amount by the infla19 tion adjustment factor (as determined under section 

20 45(e)(2), as applied by substituting ‘calendar year 

21 2020’ for ‘calendar year 1992’ in subparagraph (B) 

22 thereof) for the calendar year in which the sale oc23 curs. If any amount as increased under the pre24 ceding sentence is not a multiple of 0.1 cent, such 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 2291 IS

1 amount shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of 

2 0.1 cent. 

3 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULES.—Rules similar to the 

4 rules of paragraphs (1), (3), (4), and (5) of section 

5 45(e) shall apply for purposes of this section. 

6 ‘‘(3) PHASEOUT OF CREDIT.—If the Secretary, 

7 in consultation with the Secretary of Energy and the 

8 Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

9 Agency, determines that the annual greenhouse gas 

10 emissions from electricity production in the United 

11 States for a calendar year are equal to or less than 

12 50 percent of the annual greenhouse gas emissions 

13 from electricity production in the United States for 

14 calendar year 2020, the amount of the credit deter15 mined under the subsection (a) shall be reduced by 

16 an amount equal to the product of— 

17 ‘‘(A) the amount of credit determined 

18 under the subsection (a), as determined before 

19 application of this paragraph, multiplied by 

20 ‘‘(B) an amount (expressed as a percent21 age) equal to twice the percentage amount that 

22 the percentage determined by the Secretary 

23 pursuant to this paragraph exceeds 50 percent. 

24 ‘‘(4) ULTIMATE PURCHASER.—For purposes of 

25 this section, electricity produced by the taxpayer will 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 2291 IS

1 be treated as sold to an unrelated person if the ulti2 mate purchaser of such electricity is unrelated to 

3 such taxpayer. 

4 ‘‘(e) RECAPTURE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta6 tion with the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary 

7 of Labor, shall, by regulations, provide for recap8 turing the benefit of any credit allowable under sub9 section (a) for any taxable year if the Secretary de10 termines that— 

11 ‘‘(A) any contractor or subcontractor has 

12 failed to pay a laborer or mechanic employed by 

13 the contractor or subcontractor in the perform14 ance of any construction, repair, alteration, or 

15 maintenance with respect to the qualified nu16 clear power facility during such taxable year 

17 wages at rates not less than the rates prevailing 

18 on projects of a similar character in the locality 

19 as determined by the Secretary of Labor in ac20 cordance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of 

21 title 40, United States Code, 

22 ‘‘(B) any such contractor or subcontractor 

23 has failed to make the records required under 

24 paragraph (2) available to the Secretary for the 

25 purposes described in such paragraph, or 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 2291 IS

1 ‘‘(C) any contractor or subcontractor has 

2 failed to satisfy the requirements under sub3 section (f) during such taxable year. 

4 ‘‘(2) INVESTIGATION.—Upon receipt of a com5 plaint or its own initiative, the Secretary, in con6 sultation with the Secretary of Energy and the Sec7 retary of Labor, shall request and review the payroll 

8 records of contractors and subcontractors engaged in 

9 the performance of any construction, repair, alter10 ation, or maintenance with respect to a qualified nu11 clear power facility, and interview individuals em12 ployed by such contractors and subcontractors, to 

13 determine whether the requirements of paragraph 

14 (1)(A) and (1)(C) have been met. 

15 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT.— 

16 With respect to the administration and enforcement 

17 of the standards in paragraph (1)(A) and (1)(C), 

18 the Secretary of Labor shall have the authority and 

19 functions set forth in Reorganization Plan Num20 bered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) 

21 and section 3145 of title 40, United States Code. 

22 ‘‘(f) USE OF QUALIFIED APPRENTICES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—All contractors and sub24 contractors engaged in the performance of construc25 tion, repair, alteration, or maintenance with respect 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 2291 IS

1 to the qualified nuclear power facility shall, subject 

2 to paragraph (2), ensure that not less than 15 per3 cent of the total labor hours of such work be per4 formed by qualified apprentices. 

5 ‘‘(2) APPRENTICE-TO-JOURNEYWORKER

6 RATIO.—The requirement under paragraph (1) shall 

7 be subject to any applicable requirements for ap8 prentice-to-journeyworker ratios of the Department 

9 of Labor or the applicable State apprenticeship 

10 agency. 

11 ‘‘(3) PARTICIPATION.—Each contractor and 

12 subcontractor who employs 4 or more individuals to 

13 perform construction, repair, alteration, or mainte14 nance with respect to the qualified nuclear power fa15 cility shall employ 1 or more qualified apprentices to 

16 perform such work. 

17 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding any other 

18 provision in this subsection, this section shall not 

19 apply in the case of a taxpayer who— 

20 ‘‘(A) demonstrates a lack of availability of 

21 qualified apprentices in the geographic area of 

22 the construction, repair, alteration, or mainte23 nance; and 

24 ‘‘(B) makes a good faith effort, and its 

25 contractors and subcontractors make a good 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 2291 IS

1 faith effort, to comply with the requirements of 

2 this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

4 ‘‘(A) LABOR HOURS.—The term ‘labor 

5 hours’— 

6 ‘‘(i) means the total number of hours 

7 devoted to the performance of construction, 

8 repair, alteration, or maintenance by em9 ployees of the contractor or subcontractor; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) excludes any hours worked by— 

12 ‘‘(I) foremen; 

13 ‘‘(II) superintendents; 

14 ‘‘(III) owners; or 

15 ‘‘(IV) persons employed in a 

16 bona fide executive, administrative, or 

17 professional capacity (within the 

18 meaning of those terms in part 541 of 

19 title 29, Code of Federal Regulations). 

20 ‘‘(B) QUALIFIED APPRENTICE.—The term 

21 ‘qualified apprentice’ means an individual who 

22 is an employee of the contractor or subcon23 tractor and who is participating in a registered 

24 apprenticeship program, as defined in section 

25 3131(e)(3)(B). 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 2291 IS

1 ‘‘(g) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply to 

2 taxable years beginning after December 31, 2031.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

4 (1) Section 38(b) of the Internal Revenue Code 

5 of 1986 is amended— 

6 (A) in paragraph (32), by striking ‘‘plus’’ 

7 at the end, 

8 (B) in paragraph (33), by striking the pe9 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and 

10 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

11 paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(34) the zero-emission nuclear power produc13 tion credit determined under section 45U(a).’’. 

14 (2) The table of sections for subpart D of part 

15 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is 

16 amended by adding at the end the following new 

17 item: 

‘‘Sec. 45U. Zero-emission nuclear power production credit.’’. 

18 (c) REPORT.—Not later than January 1, 2025, the 

19 Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to 

20 Congress a report with respect to the credits allowed for 

21 qualified nuclear power facilities under section 45U of the 

22 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by subsection 

23 (a)), which shall include— 

24 (1) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the 

25 credits allowed under such section in regards to enVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:29 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2291.IS S2291

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 2291 IS

1 suring grid reliability while avoiding emissions of 

2 carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, partic3 ulate matter, and hazardous air pollutants; 

4 (2) a quantification of the ratepayer savings 

5 achieved as a result of the credits allowed under 

6 such section; and 

7 (3) any recommendations to renew or expand 

8 the credits allowed under such section. 

9 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply to 

10 electricity produced and sold after December 31, 2021, in 

11 taxable years beginning after such date. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS