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AN ACT relating to nuclear energy development, making an appropriation therefor, 1
and declaring an emergency. 2
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 3
SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 164 IS CREATED TO 4
READ AS FOLLOWS: 5
(1) The Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority shall create and 6
implement the Nuclear Energy Development Grant Program for the advancement 7
and location of nuclear energy-related projects to support the entire nuclear 8
energy ecosystem in the Commonwealth, including utility and private sector 9
economic development activities. The nuclear energy ecosystem includes but is 10
not limited to: 11
(a) The nuclear fuel cycle, which includes fuel conversion, enrichment, and 12
fabrication, as well as potential future spent fuel recycling and 13
reprocessing; 14
(b) Reactor design and component manufacturing; 15
(c) Component supply chain manufacturing and distribution; 16
(d) Facility siting and development; 17
(e) Radioisotope production; 18
(f) Facility operation and maintenance; 19
(g) Decommissioning waste storage, transport, and management; and 20
(h) End uses of nuclear energy and co-products. 21
(2) The membership of the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority shall 22
select five (5) of its voting members to serve on the nuclear energy development 23
grant administration subcommittee. A majority of the members of the grant 24
administration subcommittee shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of doing 25
business. The subcommittee shall: 26
(a) Create grant applications; 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1572
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(b) Establish grant applicant eligibility requirements; 1
(c) Establish objective scoring criteria to evaluate grant applications, including 2
but not limited to: 3
1. The likelihood that the proposed project funded by the grant will 4
precipitate further investment in the nuclear energy ecosystem; 5
2. The economic impact of the grant funding on the community and 6
region where the proposed project will be located; 7
3. The readiness of the community where the proposed project will be 8
located to host nuclear-related investments, including whether the 9
community has been awarded a nuclear-ready community designation 10
under KRS 164.2804; and 11
4. The amount of additional investment that would be made in the 12
proposed project by the grant applicant and other sources; and 13
(d) Make determinations on grant eligibility and funding and make grant 14
awards based on those determinations, not to exceed two million dollars 15
($2,000,000) per individual grant. 16
Section 2. KRS 164.2802 is amended to read as follows: 17
(1) The Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority is hereby established and 18
attached to the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research for 19
administrative purposes. The mission of the Kentucky Nuclear Energy 20
Development Authority shall be to: 21
(a) Serve as the nonregulatory, trusted state government agency on nuclear 22
energy issues and development in the Commonwealth; and 23
(b) Support and facilitate the development of the nuclear energy ecosystem across 24
the Commonwealth in a collaborative manner that: 25
1. Enhances the Commonwealth's economy; 26
2. Offers energy production and economic development opportunities that 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1572
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are safe; 1
3. Protects the environment across the Commonwealth; 2
4. Supports community voices, especially in underrepresented or 3
historically impacted areas; 4
5. Increases energy education; and 5
6. Prepares a future workforce. 6
(2) The Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority shall be governed by an 7
advisory board consisting of the following twenty-two (22) voting members and 8
eight (8) nonvoting members: 9
(a) Seven (7) state government members or their designees who shall be voting 10
members: 11
1. The director of the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy 12
Research, who shall serve as chair; 13
2. The secretary of the Energy and Environment Cabinet; 14
3. The secretary of the Cabinet for Economic Development; 15
4. The chair of the Public Service Commission; 16
5. The president of the Council on Postsecondary Education; 17
6. The secretary of the Education and Labor Cabinet; and 18
7. The director of the Division of Emergency Management; 19
(b) Fifteen (15) at-large members who shall be voting members: 20
1. A representative from each of the four (4) investor-owned electric 21
utilities operating in the Commonwealth, designated by the president of 22
each investor-owned electric utility, unless two (2) or more of the 23
investor-owned electric utilities are operated under common ownership, 24
in which case only one (1) representative shall be designated for the 25
commonly owned utilities; 26
2. Three (3) representatives of electric cooperatives designated by the chief 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1572
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operating officer of the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives, 1
as follows: 2
a. One (1) of whom shall represent distribution cooperatives; and 3
b. Two (2) of whom shall represent each of the generation and 4
transmission electric cooperatives operating in the 5
Commonwealth, unless they are operated under common 6
ownership, in which case only one (1) representative shall be 7
designated for the commonly owned generation and transmission 8
electric cooperatives; 9
3. A representative of the Tennessee Valley Authority, designated by its 10
chief nuclear officer; 11
4. A representative of municipal utilities, designated by the executive 12
director of the Kentucky League of Cities; 13
5. A representative of nuclear site remediation services, designated by the 14
director of business services for the Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership or 15
by another organization that provides nuclear site remediation services; 16
6. A representative for environmental interests, designated by the 17
executive director of the Kentucky Conservation Committee; 18
7. A representative of manufacturers, designated by the president of the 19
Kentucky Association of Manufacturers; 20
8. A representative for commercial interests, designated by the president of 21
the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce; 22
9. A mayor of a city, designated by the executive director of the Kentucky 23
League of Cities, who lives in an "energy community" as that term is 24
used in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Pub. L. No. 117-169, and as 25
it is defined in the latest guidance by the Internal Revenue Service; and 26
10. A county judge/executive, designated by the executive director of the 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1572
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Kentucky Association of Counties, who lives in an "energy community" 1
as that term is used in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Pub. L. No. 2
117-169, and as it is defined in the latest guidance by the Internal 3
Revenue Service; and 4
(c) Eight (8) nonvoting members: 5
1. The president of the Nuclear Energy Institute, or designee; 6
2. A representative from a national nuclear educational nonprofit 7
organization, designated by the chair and confirmed by a majority of the 8
voting members; 9
3. A representative from a United States Department of Energy National 10
Laboratory with expertise in nuclear energy policy issues, designated by 11
the chair and confirmed by a majority of the voting members; 12
4. A representative from a nongovernmental nuclear policy advocacy 13
organization, designated by the chair and confirmed by a majority of the 14
voting members; 15
5. Two (2) members of the Senate, who shall serve as ex officio members, 16
designated by the President of the Senate; and 17
6. Two (2) members of the House of Representatives, who shall serve as 18
ex officio members, designated by the Speaker of the House of 19
Representatives. 20
(3) State government members named in subsection (2)(a) of this section and members 21
of the General Assembly named in subsection (2)(c)5. and 6. of this section shall 22
serve on the advisory board during the terms of their appointed or elected state 23
government positions. After the initial appointments, all other members of the 24
advisory board shall serve terms of four (4) years. Members shall be eligible to 25
succeed themselves and shall serve until their successors are appointed. A vacancy 26
occurring during the term of any member shall be filled in the same manner as the 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1572
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original appointment. 1
(4) A majority of the voting members of the advisory board shall constitute a quorum 2
for the purposes of conducting business. The advisory board shall meet at least 3
quarterly, or more often at the call of the chair. 4
(5) Members of the advisory board shall not be paid for their service as board 5
members, and they shall not be reimbursed for any expenses relating to their 6
attendance of board meetings. 7
(6) The advisory board shall hire a director of the authority who shall possess the skills 8
and experience necessary to lead the authority effectively, promote the safe and 9
responsible development of nuclear energy, publicize and encourage application to 10
the Nuclear Energy Development Grant Program established in Section 1 of this 11
Act, and achieve the authority's purposes described in subsection (7) of this section. 12
(7) The purposes of the authority shall be to: 13
(a) Assist interested communities in understanding advanced nuclear 14
opportunities, including the importance of secure, firm, cost-competitive 15
power for customers and for economic development opportunities, as well as 16
the potential for direct and indirect economic benefits associated with the 17
employment and tax revenue generated from nuclear energy projects; 18
(b) Provide information to the public on the history of nuclear energy 19
technologies in the Commonwealth, the status of existing nuclear energy 20
projects within the Commonwealth, and the potential benefits and concerns 21
associated with nuclear energy technologies; 22
(c) Develop the capacity for nuclear energy economic development in the 23
Commonwealth, which shall include providing information to educational 24
institutions on the types of career opportunities that will be available with the 25
development of nuclear energy, building strong relationships with economic 26
development professionals, promoting existing economic development 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1572
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incentives applicable to nuclear energy development, and seeking out new 1
grants and other financial support for nuclear energy development; 2
(d) Seek greater clarity and certainty with stakeholders on financial support for 3
early nuclear site permitting, the process for obtaining a nuclear power facility 4
certificate of public convenience and necessity, and the recovery of 5
construction work in progress for nuclear energy projects; 6
(e) Work with communities that have previously hosted nuclear-related activities 7
and other communities facing a transition away from fossil fuels to empower 8
those communities with the resources and information necessary to engage 9
with regulators, developers, and decisionmakers on new nuclear power 10
facilities, nuclear component manufacturing facilities, and fuel cycle facilities; 11
(f) Strengthen engagement with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission by 12
reviewing current safety and security practices implemented at different types 13
of nuclear energy facilities under their purview, promoting the streamlining of 14
permitting efforts, and supporting the siting of interim and permanent nuclear 15
storage facilities via the continued use of consent-based siting; 16
(g) Build the organizational capacity to engage and potentially convene a 17
consortium of stakeholders interested in nuclear energy technologies that 18
would consist of utilities, environmental advocates, electric cooperatives, and 19
major industrial companies in order to share best practices, including how to 20
share risk associated with developing and constructing new nuclear power 21
plants within the Commonwealth; 22
(h) Engage with the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, 23
academic institutions, and private companies on efforts to develop deployable 24
technologies to reprocess or recycle spent nuclear fuel;[ and] 25
(i) Maintain awareness of potential events that could initiate or accelerate the 26
development of new nuclear energy technologies within the Commonwealth 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1572
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to allow the public to benefit from these projects; and 1
(j) Through the nuclear energy development grant administration 2
subcommittee, review and evaluate grant applications and make grant 3
awards in accordance with Section 1 of this Act. 4
(8) The authority, with the approval of the advisory board, shall: 5
(a) Propose and adopt bylaws for the management and operation of the authority, 6
including for the Nuclear Energy Development Grant Program established 7
in Section 1 of this Act; 8
(b) Develop and adopt a strategic plan for carrying out the purposes of the 9
authority described in subsection (7) of this section; 10
(c) Create and update at least once every two (2) years a nuclear energy economic 11
impact analysis for the Commonwealth; 12
(d) Employ necessary staff to carry out the functions of the authority; and 13
(e) By December 1, 2025, and each December 1 thereafter, submit a report to the 14
Governor and the Legislative Research Commission for referral to the Interim 15
Joint Committees on Natural Resources and Energy, Appropriations and 16
Revenue, and Economic Development and Workforce Investment providing: 17
1. A summary of the authority's activities and achievements since its last 18
report; 19
2. The evaluations and scores of all nuclear energy development grant 20
applications received and all grant awards made pursuant to Section 1 21
of this Act since its last report; and 22
3. [offering ]Recommendations for the support and expansion of the 23
nuclear energy ecosystem in the Commonwealth. 24
Section 3. 2024 Kentucky Acts Chapter 173, Section 1, (207), at page 1766, is 25
amended to read as follows: 26
(207) $20,000,000 in each fiscal year to the University of Kentucky budget unit to 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1572
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be invested as a quasi-endowment by the University. Of this amount, $10,000,000 may 1
be used in fiscal year 2025-2026 to support the Nuclear Energy Development Grant 2
Program. The interest earned on the investment shall be used for the Center for Applied 3
Energy Research’s administration and support of the Kentucky Nuclear Energy 4
Development Authority and the Energy Planning and Inventory Commission; 5
Section 4. The following KRS section is repealed: 6
154.12-340 Financial assistance program for nuclear energy-related projects -- Cabinet 7
to verify and process financial assistance requests -- Administrative regulations. 8
Section 5. Whereas it is critical to the economic development and energy 9
reliability goals of the Commonwealth that grant funding be made available to contribute 10
to the advancement and location of nuclear energy-related projects in Kentucky, an 11
emergency is declared to exist, and this Act takes effect upon its passage and approval by 12
the Governor or upon its otherwise becoming a law. 13