NEI urges Senate to extend nuclear production tax credit

The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) recently issued a press release urging the U.S. Senate to advance a bill that would extend nuclear production tax credit provisions.

The U.S. House recently advanced the bill, which would benefit two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors being built at Southern Nuclear Operating Co.’s Vogtle site in Georgia and at SCANA Corp.’s V.C. Summer site in South Carolina.

“Extending the production tax credit for these nuclear plants supports innovation in energy and American competitiveness in a vital industry,” NEI Vice President of Governmental Affairs Beverly Marshall said.

The 2005 Energy Policy Act created a production tax credit of 1.8 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity produced by new nuclear power plants. The tax credit is applicable to the first 6,000 megawatts of new nuclear generating capacity. To qualify for the credit, a new nuclear plant would have had to be in service on or before Dec. 31, 2020.

The bill currently headed to the Senate would remove this deadline, leaving the 6,000-MW cap as the sole limit for the program.

“The supporters of this bill in the House are helping to maintain American’s technological leadership, high-paying jobs in infrastructure and our national security objectives,” Marshall said. “We hope the Senate will continue to move the bill forward expeditiously.”