Diablo Canyon Conditional Award NEPA Documentation
On July 31, 2023, DOE’s Grid Deployment Office (GDO) issued a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Civil Nuclear Credit Program Proposed Award of Credits to Pacific Gas and Electric Company for Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DOE/EIS-0555), which assesses the potential environmental impacts of awarding credits to Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) under the Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) Program.
November 2022 Cycle 1 Conditional Award Selected
On November 21, 2022, DOE announced the conditional selection of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, located near Avila Beach, California, to receive the first round of funding from the Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) Program. Units 1 and 2 at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant were scheduled to be decommissioned in 2024 and 2025, but this conditional award of credits valued at up to $1.1 billion, creates a path forward for Diablo Canyon to remain open. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), the owner of Diablo Canyon, will be required to enter into a Credit Award and Redemption Agreement (CARA) for DOE to make the final award. The CARA will govern the relationship between DOE and PG&E. Diablo Canyon produces approximately 16 TWh of electricity annually, about 15% of the state’s clean energy. The award will save 1,500 clean energy jobs.
September 2022 Civil Nuclear Credit Program Award Cycle 1 Closed
Applications for award cycle 1 of the CNC program closed on September 6, 2022.
June 2022 Amended Civil Nuclear Credit Program Guidance
DOE recently amended the Guidance for applying to the Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) Program. To incorporate these changes into the Guidance for the current award cycle and give potential applicants the time they need to respond, we have extended the application period to September 6, 2022. This will allow any reactors impacted by the change the time to submit an application based on the Amended Guidance.
The Amended Guidance revises the eligibility criteria to replace the requirement that a nuclear reactor applying for credits under the CNC Program not recover more than 50 percent of its costs from cost-of-service regulation or regulated contracts. This change affects the eligibility of reactors who may apply in the first round of awards.
April 2022 Civil Nuclear Credit Program Guidance
We are now seeking applications for certification and sealed bid submissions under the Civil Nuclear Credit Program to support the continued operation of U.S. nuclear reactors. These Guidance documents, included below, direct owners or operators of nuclear power reactors that are expected to shut down due to economic circumstances on how to apply for funding to avoid premature closure. They include instructions on formulating and submitting sealed bids for potential allocation of credits.