Legislation

The bill builds on the bipartisan FUTURE Act, which was signed into law and expands and extends the key 45Q carbon capture tax incentive. It would further support carbon capture technologies through public-private partnerships, permitting improvements and innovative R&D.

Directs and authorizes the Energy secretary to construct a versatile neutron source user facility via funding allocated from the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy.

NEICA authorizes the development of a versatile neutron source for advanced reactor testing and directs the Department of Energy to prioritize partnering with private innovators to test and demonstrate advanced nuclear reactor concepts.

Expands FERC’s authority to act as the lead agency for coordinating federal environmental reviews of natural gas pipelines under NEPA.

Directs the Department of Energy to begin planning for a fast neutron source and provides for computational modeling support necessary for advanced nuclear engineering and ensures that the private sector will have access to existing national labs’ resources.

Requires the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission to consider new frameworks for licensing advanced nuclear reactors.

The NUKE act establishes reasonable deadlines for major applications and other efforts to streamline licensing, and authorizes studies to reconsider outdated regulations of the Atomic Energy Act.

Directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to develop a technology-inclusive licensing plan that promotes safety without being prescriptive, while modifying the cost-recovery mechanism so utilities aren’t on the hook for other companies’ technologies.

Sets a goal of developing three commercially-viable energy storage solutions by 2028.

Requires the Department of Energy to evaluate and make recommendations to administration-funded carbon capture projects in order to set and meet specific milestones for those projects.

Nuclear has long been the nation’s leading clean baseload source of power but faces challenges in the development and use of small modular reactors and other technologies that produce less waste and are more economically viable to manufacture.

The bipartisan Carbon Capture Improvement Act provides carbon capture projects access to tax-advantaged bonds issued by municipal and state governments to attract investment in local infrastructure projects.

Cuts federal reviews of small conduit (or energy-recovery) hydropower projects.

Improves licensing and re-licensing for non-federal hydropower facilities.

H.R. 2880 would streamline the federal licensing process for pumped storage hydropower facilities.

H.R. 2872 and S. 2655E establish a streamlined environmental review process for qualifying non-powered dam projects.

Authorizes increased funding for the Energy Department’s ARPA-E through 2022.

H.R. 3761 and S. 1535 extend and expand the Section 45Q tax incentive for projects that capture and store carbon from coal and natural gas power plants and other facilities.

Modify the 45(j) production tax credit to remove the 2021 deadline for new reactors to be placed in service and allow public-private partnerships more flexibility to utilize the credit.