DATE INTRODUCED:

02/10/2026

What:

The Accelerating Reliable Capacity (ARC) Act seeks to incentivize investments in new nuclear reactors by reducing the risk of project cost escalation to break the project-finance gridlock on these innovative and capital-intensive projects. The ARC Act would create the Accelerating Reliable Capacity Program within the Department of Energy (DOE). The program would be overseen by the Secretary of Energy and utilize the authorities of the Loan Programs Office (LPO), recently renamed the Office of Energy Dominance Financing.

The ARC Program would help drive project completion and prevent cost escalation at three project stages:

• on the front end, by establishing project readiness requirements such as, cost, schedule, labor, and risk-shared project delivery plans;
• during the project, by overseeing project execution; and
• at the end, by incentivizing project completion.

In cases where costs exceed 120% of the estimate verified by DOE, on a 50:50 cost share basis, ARC funding is applied to the loan balance after the project is placed in service. To protect taxpayers and ratepayers by encouraging project completion, this federal cost share is capped and only provided after the project is successfully placed in service.

Additionally, the bill would expand eligibility to allow nonprofit utilities, military installations, National Laboratories, the U.S. General Services Administration, and projects using certain nuclear fuel to partner with projects that use LPO financing.

Why it matters:

Financing costs for early nuclear energy projects are expected to be 20-25% of the total plant cost and capital-intensive projects are very sensitive to financing cost increases. According to the DOE, a reactor design should be commercially mature by its tenth deployment. The three pronged approach of the ARC Act increases cost certainty and project completion, reduces deployment risk, and allows stakeholders to move forward with early new nuclear investments.

What's Next:

The U.S. needs more reliable, clean power. The ARC Act seeks to jumpstart scaling the U.S. nuclear industry by accelerating the deployment of early projects alongside ongoing demonstration projects. This bipartisan legislation will help address uncertainty and allow companies to build an order book, invest in the supply chains and strengthen America's nuclear workforce.

ORIGINAL SPONSOR

Sen. James Risch (R-ID)

COSPONSOR:

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ)

SUPPORT

ClearPath Action, Nuclear Energy Institute, Nuclear Innovation Alliance, U.S. Nuclear Industry Council, Clean Air Task Force, Nuclear Energy and National Security Coalition, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Global Energy Institute, American Public Power Association, North America’s Building Trades Unions, Holtec International, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Idaho Public Utilities Commission, Salt River Project, Arizona Public Service

CONGRESS.GOV LINK:

S. 3814

PRINTABLE SUMMARY:

Printable summary of S. 3814