The clock is running down for financially troubled nuclear plants on the brink of shutdown to seek a federal bailout, the Department of Energy said Monday.
Thursday is the deadline for interested applicants to submit their bids on a roughly $1.2 billion chunk of DOE’s $6 billion civil nuclear credits program, the Office of Nuclear Energy said in a Tweet Monday. Bids must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Mountain time.
FIRST ROUND: Applications must be submitted by May 19, 2022, for @ENERGY‘s Civil Nuclear Credit program. Owners and operators of U.S. commercial reactors facing financial hardship can apply to help support their continued operations.https://t.co/iYeCMQ6jpZ
— Office of Nuclear Energy (@GovNuclear) May 16, 2022
“Owners and operators of U.S. commercial reactors facing financial hardship can apply to help support their continued operations,” DOE said. DOE is limiting the first round of awards to plants facing imminent shutdown, but future opportunities will be open to a broader set of applicants, the agency said.
While politicians in some states hosting plants on the verge of closure have signaled their intention to bid on credits in this first round, whether those plans would actually come to fruition remains uncertain.
In Michigan, Palisades Nuclear Generating Station operator Entergy in April poured cold water on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) plan to seek credits for the plant, saying that the plant should still shut down this month as planned.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has also suggested that Sacramento would consider applying for a federal bailout for the Diablo Canyon plant slated for final closure in 2025. Newsom, however, hasn’t said whether the state would actually pursue such action.
Meanwhile, DOE is soliciting contractors to help evaluate any first-round bids that come in. The agency May 6 said it was looking for help determining whether applicants are eligible for the credit program, which is part of the bipartisan infrastructure bill signed in November.
