Companies that want to help the Department of Energy evaluate bids for financial aid from struggling nuclear power plants have until the end of the week to bid for the work, according to a recent procurement notice.
DOE’s request for proposals, published May 6, says the selected contractor would help the agency ensure nuclear plants’ legal eligibility for a slice of the roughly $6 billion credits created by November’s bipartisan infrastructure bill. The contractor will also “support evaluation of bids” for eligible plants, DOE said.
The contract will run from May 20 to Sept. 20, DOE said in the solicitation. Friday is the deadline for interested contractors to respond to DOE’s request, the agency said.
Among the deliverables DOE requested are an initial review of certification applications and a series of reviews detailing whether nuclear reactors seeking credits are in danger of closing “due to economic factors,” the agency said in a Statement of Objectives document included alongside the May 6 notice.
DOE officially unveiled its civil nuclear credits program in late April. Bids on the first round of awards are due by 11:59 p.m. Mountain time on May 19.
The first funding cycle will prioritize nuclear plants that have already announced plans to close, DOE has said. The agency is also accepting both certification applications and bids at the same time to speed things along. A future award cycle will open things up to nuclear plants more broadly, DOE has said.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has said that she would seek a bailout for Palisades Nuclear Generating Station, scheduled to shut down at the end of the month. Despite that, operator Entergy said in April that the plant will likely shut down as scheduled.
Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has said that a credits bid remains on the table for the state’s Diablo Canyon plant, but has not said whether Sacramento would actually pursue such action.
