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DOE Grants California’s Request to Revise Civil Nuclear Credit Program Eligibility, Extends Deadline

July 2, 2022

The Department of Energy (DOE) has revised eligibility criteria for the first-award cycle of its $ 6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) program and extended its application period to Sept. 6, 2022. The action responds to a request for adjustments from the California governor’s office to better address Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E’s) 2,240-MW Diablo Canyon Power Plant’s (DCPP’s) “unique circumstances.”

The DOE’s formal amendment of its April 2022–issued CNC program guidance on June 30 seeks to clarify how it interprets a reactor has met eligibility requirements that it “competes in a competitive electricity market,” as set out in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The changes, which the DOE adopted from a proposal it unveiled on June 17, have drawn mixed reactions from an array of stakeholders, including the nuclear industry, the power sector, and citizen and environmental groups.

‘Material Amount of Total Revenue’

The April guidance, which applies to the CNC’s first-award cycle, allowed nuclear reactors to demonstrate competitive operation during the CNC’s four-year credit period by showing units would receive 50% or more of total revenue “from sources that are exposed to market competition.”…

‘GREEN Act of 2019’ Extends Tax Credits for Renewables

November 20, 2019

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The post ‘GREEN Act of 2019’ Extends Tax Credits for Renewables appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Ways and Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 19 released a draft tax package for clean energy projects that includes a five-year extension of the 30% solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), along with new incentives for energy storage.

The legislation also supports incentives for electric vehicles (EVs), offshore and onshore wind farms, and energy efficiency measures, among other items.

“This bill will build on existing tax incentives that promote renewable energy and increase efficiency and create new models for technology and activity to reduce our carbon footprint,” Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, said in a statement Tuesday.

Critics of the package include six groups—Americans for Tax Reform, Americans for Prosperity, the Center for a Free Economy, FreedomWorks, Heritage Action, and the National Taxpayers Union. Those groups earlier Tuesday shared a letter and asked lawmakers not to extend tax credits or give more support for renewable energy, saying phaseouts of credits adopted in 2015 should be continued.…

ExxonMobil Extends Deal for Fuel Cell Carbon Capture Project

November 12, 2019

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The post ExxonMobil Extends Deal for Fuel Cell Carbon Capture Project appeared first on POWER Magazine.

ExxonMobil and FuelCell Energy announced a new joint-development agreement to enhance carbon capture fuel cell technology, as the groups work on a process to capture combustion exhaust from power plants and other industrial facilities.

The two-year deal, announced Nov. 6 and an extension of an earlier agreement, is aimed at optimizing core technology, process integration, and large-scale deployment of carbon capture. FuelCell Energy’s technology uses carbonate fuel cells to capture and concentrate carbon dioxide (CO₂), with the CO₂sent to the fuel cell. The fuel cell produces power and captures and concentrates the CO₂for storage.

“We have a great opportunity to scale and commercialize our unique carbon capture solution, one that captures about 90 percent of carbon dioxide from various exhaust streams, while generating additional power, unlike traditional carbon capture technologies which consume significant power,” FuelCell CEO Jason Few said in a statement.…

TVA Extends Deadline for Bellefonte Nuclear Plant Deal

November 12, 2018

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A Tennessee businessman now has until the end of November to finalize a two-year-old purchase agreement for the unfinished Bellefonte nuclear power plant in Alabama.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which began building the plant in 1974 but ended construction in 1988 amid a downturn in the nuclear power industry, on November 9 said it has extended the deadline in its agreement with Franklin Haney’s Nuclear Development LLC (NDLLC) from November 14 to November 30. Haney now has another 16 days to complete the agreement to buy the plant’s assets.

Haney last week said legal and regulatory issues have delayed the sale’s closure. The project also has been dogged by allegations of payments to secure federal government support. And one of the project’s potential electricity customers recently signaled it may back away from a deal to purchase power from the plant.

Haney, a real estate developer who grew his business by buying and building properties that he then leases to local, state, and federal government interests, was the highest bidder for Bellefonte’s assets in an auction in November 2016.…

EPA Extends Deadline for 2015 Ozone NAAQS Area Designations

June 9, 2017

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is giving states an extra year to develop air quality plans related to the 2015-National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone.

In a June 6 letter sent to U.S. governors, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that the extended deadline for promulgating initial area designations for the rule issued by the Obama administration in October 2015 would give the agency more time to assess available information and complete its review of the rule.

When it promulgated the rule, which slashed the current limit of 75 parts per billion (ppb) to 70 ppb, former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said the decision was based on well-founded concerns for public health. States have begun submitting proposals for area designations under the new standard.

The Trump administration’s review of the rule is more focused on how it will affect businesses. According to the EPA, areas designated as being in “nonattainment” of the standard face consequences, including: “increased regulatory burdens, restrictions on infrastructure investment, and increased costs to businesses.”…