Enabling the Nuclear Renaissance Act

Bill: 111-s-3618
Sponsor: Sen. Voinovich, George V. [R-OH]
Introduced: 2010-07-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Administrative remedies
Advisory bodies
Alternative and renewable resources
Building construction
Business investment and capital
Economic development
Employment and training programs
Energy research
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Executive agency funding and structure
Government corporations and government-sponsored enterprises
Government lending and loan guarantees
Government trust funds
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Income tax credits
Income tax deductions
Land transfers
Land use and conservation
Licensing and registrations
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Nuclear power
Personnel records
Public contracts and procurement
Public participation and lobbying
Public-private cooperation
Radioactive wastes and releases
Research and development
Securities
Tax-exempt organizations

Summary:
action_date: 2010-07-20
text: 
Enabling the Nuclear Renaissance Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) nuclear energy shall be considered clean energy; (2) any provision of federal law relating to clean energy shall be considered to include nuclear energy as a form of clean energy; and (3) nuclear energy is a renewable-equivalent for purposes of a renewable energy standard.
 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to create: (1) a five-year accelerated depreciation period for tangible property used in the manufacturing of an advanced nuclear power facility; (2) a nuclear power facility construction credit; (3) advanced energy project tax credits for nuclear power facilities; and (4) an American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) nuclear certification credit.
 
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to award a grant to each qualified public entity which places in service a qualified nuclear power facility in order to reimburse it for a portion of its nuclear power facility expenditures.
 
Amends the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 to increase the funding for loan guarantee commitments under the Title 17 Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPA) to revise requirements for the loan guarantees.
 
Amends EPA to direct the Secretary of Energy to offer to enter into cooperative agreements to develop and license specified small modular reactors with a rated capacity under 350 electrical megawatts.
 
Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to: (1) modify licensing procedures; (2) direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to assume the availability of sufficient capacity to timely dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from the operation of the nuclear facility on a license application; and (3) prescribe environmental reviews for nuclear energy projects. 
 
Authorizes appropriations for training the next generation nuclear workforce.
 
Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish: (1) the National Nuclear Energy Council; (2) the Energy Park Initiative; (3) the Advisory Committee on Energy Park Development; and (4) the N Prize Program.
 
Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to establish a tax-exempt United States Nuclear Fuel Management Corporation to assume federal responsibility for spent nuclear fuel management.
 
Establishes in the Treasury the United States Nuclear Fuel Management Corporation Fund.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2010-07-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2010-07-20
text: Introduced in Senate