The Department of Energy (DOE) will next week kick off its much-watched $ 6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) program to bolster the existing U.S. nuclear fleet by issuing a guidance document that will set down criteria for a combined certification and a sealed bid auction process.

The agency said in an April 6 update the guidance document it will make public in the week of April 18 “will define program eligibility requirements, identify all required deliverables for both certification applications and the sealed bid auction, and give details on program administration.” Because it is acting on an ambitious schedule as required by the November 2021–enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the agency said it will aim to issue the first certification determination and preliminary credit award decisions “expeditiously” after a 30-day open application period.

The first award cycle for fiscal year 2022 will “prioritize and be limited to reactors that are approaching near-term closure,” the DOE said in its update.…

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