On June 24, 2021, U.S. Senators Tom Carper (D-DE), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced the Zero-Emission Nuclear Power Production Credit Act of 2021 (S. 2291). The bill would make existing merchant nuclear power owners/operators eligible for the same $0.015/kWh ($15/MWh) tax credit proposed for wind operators.[1] Nuclear reactors provide one-fifth of the U.S.’s electricity and represent 55% of total emission-free energy across the nation. However, the current production tax credit for eligible nuclear power facilities only applies to nuclear plants for the first eight years of operations. Older nuclear power plants, many of which are retiring early due to low energy prices, are not eligible for any tax credits. The proposed production tax credit would phase out if market revenues reach $0.025/kWh ($25/MWh), if greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) drop 50% from 2020 levels, or after ten years. Several labor groups and other organizations support a nuclear production tax credit, including the American Nuclear Society, the Bipartisan Policy Center Action, GE Hitachi, North America’s Building Trade Unions, Nuclear Energy Institute, and Sensible Energy Matters to America.

[1] https://www.energy.senate.gov/2021/6/manchin-cardin-carper-whitehouse-booker-introduce-bill-to-extend-production-tax-credit-for-zero-emission-energy-sources-to-existing-nuclear-plants