Bill Text: NJ A4215 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Directs BPU to adopt rules and regulations concerning small modular nuclear reactors; authorizes EDA to incentivize construction and operation of such reactors.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-02 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee [A4215 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A4215-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ROBERT J. KARABINCHAK
District 18 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Directs BPU to adopt rules and regulations concerning small modular nuclear reactors; authorizes EDA to incentivize construction and operation of such reactors.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning certain nuclear fission reactors, amending P.L.2007, c.340, and supplementing P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-51 et al.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-46) is amended to read as follows:
2. As used in sections 1 through 11 and sections 14 and 15 of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-45 et seq.):
"Allowance" means a limited authorization, as defined by the department, to emit up to one ton of carbon dioxide or its equivalent.
"Board" means the Board of Public Utilities.
"Compliance entity" means an owner or operator of an electric generating unit, with a nameplate capacity equal to or greater than 25 megawatts of electrical output, in New Jersey that is required to obtain allowances in order to operate an electric generating unit that holds an operating permit from the department issued pursuant to P.L.1954, c.212 (C.26:2C-1 et seq.), whether that unit is in operation or in development. "Compliance entity" shall not include any cogeneration facility or combined heat and power facility that is an "on-site generation facility" as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-51) and sells less than 10 percent of its annual gross electrical generation.
"Consumer benefit" means any action or measure to: promote energy efficiency; directly mitigate electricity ratepayer impacts; develop and deliver renewable or non-carbon-emitting energy technologies; stimulate or reward investment in the development of innovative carbon emissions abatement technologies with significant carbon emissions reduction potential; fund programs that promote measurable electricity end-use energy efficiency in the commercial, institutional, and industrial sectors; or fund the administration of greenhouse gas emissions allowance trading and consumer benefit programs.
"Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection.
"Dispatch agreement facility" means a facility that is a compliance entity that is a cogeneration facility or has a heat rate below 8,100 BTU per kilowatt-hour, and has entered into a power agreement: (1) with a duration of more than 15 years from its effective date; (2) that provides that the entity's counterpart to the agreement controls the electric dispatch of the facility; (3) which
was executed prior to January 1, 2002; and (4) which does not allow for the entity to pass the cost of allowances on to the counterpart to the agreement.
"Global Warming Solutions Fund" or "fund" means the "Global Warming Solutions Fund" established pursuant to section 6 of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-50).
"Greenhouse gas" means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of P.L.2007, c.112 (C.26:2C-39).
"Qualified participant" means a compliance entity or other entity that meets financial assurance and any other requirements to participate in an auction, as determined by the department in consultation with other entities participating in a regional, national or international program.
"Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative" means the cooperative effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions entered into by the governors of seven states through a Memorandum of Understanding signed on December 20, 2005, as amended.
"Small modular nuclear reactor" means a nuclear fission reactor that: (1) has a rated electric generating capacity of not more than 300 megawatts; (2) is capable of being constructed and operated either alone or in combination with one or more similar reactors if additional reactors are or become necessary at a single site; and (3) is required to be licensed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
(cf: P.L.2007, c.340, s.2)
2. Section 7 of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-51) is amended to read as follows:
7. a. The agencies administering programs established pursuant to this section shall maximize coordination in the administration of the programs to avoid overlap between the uses of the fund prescribed in this section.
b. Moneys in the fund, after appropriation annually for payment of administrative costs authorized pursuant to subsection c. of this section, shall be annually appropriated and used for the following purposes:
(1) Sixty percent shall be allocated to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to provide grants and other forms of financial assistance to commercial, institutional, and industrial entities to support end-use energy efficiency projects and new, efficient electric generation facilities that are state of the art, as determined by the department, including but not limited to energy efficiency and renewable energy applications, to develop combined heat and power production and other high efficiency electric generation facilities, to stimulate or reward investment in the development of innovative carbon emissions abatement technologies with significant carbon emissions reduction or avoidance potential, to develop qualified offshore wind projects pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2010, c.57 (C.48:3-87.1), [and] to provide financial assistance to manufacturers of equipment associated with qualified offshore wind projects; and to incentivize the construction and operation of small modular nuclear reactors. The authority, in consultation with the board and the department, shall determine: (a) the appropriate level of grants or other forms of financial assistance to be awarded to individual commercial, institutional, and industrial sectors and to individual projects within each of these sectors; (b) the evaluation criteria for selecting projects to be awarded grants or other forms of financial assistance, which criteria shall include the ability of the project to result in a measurable reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases or a measurable reduction in energy demand, provided, however, that neither the development of a new combined heat and power production facility, nor an increase in the electrical and thermal output of an existing combined heat and power production facility, shall be subject to the requirement to demonstrate such a measurable reduction; and (c) the process by which grants or other forms of financial assistance can be applied for and awarded including, if applicable, the payment terms and conditions for authority investments in certain projects with commercial viability;
(2) Twenty percent shall be allocated to the board to support programs that are designed to reduce electricity demand or costs to electricity customers in the low-income and moderate-income residential sector with a focus on urban areas, including efforts to address heat island effect and reduce impacts on ratepayers attributable to the implementation of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-45 et al.) or to support the light duty plug-in electric vehicle incentive program and the incentive program for in-home electric vehicle service equipment established pursuant to sections 4 and 6 of P.L.2019, c.362 (C.48:25-4 and C.48:25-6). For the purposes of this paragraph, the board, in consultation with the authority and the department, shall determine the types of programs to be supported and the mechanism by which to quantify benefits to ensure that the supported programs result in a measurable reduction in energy demand or accomplishment of the plug-in electric vehicle goals established pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2019, c.362 (C.48:25-3);
(3) Ten percent shall be allocated to the department to support programs designed to promote local government efforts to plan, develop and implement measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including but not limited to technical assistance to local governments, and the awarding of grants and other forms of assistance to local governments to conduct and implement energy efficiency, renewable energy, and distributed energy programs and land use planning where the grant or assistance results in a measurable reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases or a measurable reduction in energy demand. For the purpose of conducting any program pursuant to this paragraph, the department, in consultation with the authority and the board, shall determine: (a) the appropriate level of grants or other forms of financial assistance to be awarded to local governments; (b) the evaluation criteria for selecting projects to be awarded grants or other forms of financial assistance; (c) the process by which grants or other forms of financial assistance can be applied for and awarded; and (d) a mechanism by which to quantify benefits; and
(4) Ten percent shall be allocated to the department to support programs that enhance the stewardship and restoration of the State's forests and tidal marshes that provide important opportunities to sequester or reduce greenhouse gases.
c. (1) The department may use up to four percent of the total amount in the fund each year to pay for administrative costs justifiable and approved in the annual budget process, incurred by the department in administering the provisions of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-45 et al.) and in administering programs to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases including any obligations that may arise under subsection a. of section 11 of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-55).
(2) The board may use up to two percent of the total amount in the fund each year to pay for administrative costs justifiable and approved in the annual budget process, incurred by the board in administering the provisions of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-45 et al.) and in administering programs to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases including any obligations that may arise under subsection a. of section 11 of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-55).
(3) The New Jersey Economic Development Authority may use up to two percent of the total amount in the fund each year to pay for administrative costs justifiable and approved in the annual budget process, incurred by the authority in administering the provisions of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-45 et al.) and in administering programs to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.
d. The State Comptroller shall conduct or supervise independent audit and fiscal oversight functions of the fund and its uses.
(cf: P.L.2019, c.362, s.12)
3. (New section) a. No later than 18 months after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the board shall adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations concerning the construction and operation of small modular nuclear reactors in the State.
b. The rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this section shall provide that, in acting on a petition by an electric power supplier or basic generation service provider for the construction, purchase, or lease of a small modular nuclear reactor, the board shall consider the following:
(1) whether, and to what extent, the small modular nuclear reactor proposed by the electric power supplier or basic generation service provider will replace a loss of generating capacity in the State resulting from the retirement or planned retirement of one or more existing electric generating facilities, which are located in New Jersey and which use coal or natural gas a fuel source; and
(2) whether the small modular nuclear reactor that will replace an existing facility will be located on the same site as, or near, the existing facility and, if so, potential opportunities for the electric power supplier or basic generation service provider to make use of any land and existing infrastructure or facilities already owned or under the control of the electric power supplier or basic generation service provider, or create new employment opportunities for workers who have been, or would be, displaced as a result of the retirement of the existing facility.
c. The board shall not authorize the operation of a small modular nuclear reactor unless the owner or operator of the proposed small modular nuclear reactor provides evidence of a plan to apply for all licenses or permits to construct or operate the proposed small modular nuclear reactor as may be required by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection, and any other relevant state or federal regulatory agency with jurisdiction over the construction or operation of nuclear generating facilities.
d. Any reports; notices of violations; or other notifications sent to or from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission by or to the owner or operator of a proposed small modular nuclear reactor shall be submitted by the owner or operator to the commission within such times as prescribed by the board, subject to the board's duty to treat as confidential and protect from public access and disclosure any information that is contained in a report or notice and that is considered confidential or exempt from public access and disclosure under State or federal law.
e. A person that owns or operates a small modular nuclear reactor in the State may not store spent nuclear fuel or high level radioactive waste from the small modular nuclear reactor on the site of the small modular nuclear reactor without first meeting all applicable requirements of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
f. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the authority of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
4. This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would direct the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to adopt rules and regulations concerning the construction and operation of small modular nuclear reactors in the State. The bill would also authorize the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) to incentivize the construction and operation of small modular nuclear reactors using moneys in the "Global Warming Solutions Fund" established pursuant to P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-45 et al.).
As defined by the bill, "small modular nuclear reactor" means a nuclear fission reactor that: (1) has a rated electric generating capacity of not more than 300 megawatts; (2) is capable of being construction and operated either alone or in combination with one or more similar reactors if additional reactors are or become necessary at a single site; and (3) is required to be licensed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The bill would require the BPU, whenever it considers a petition by an electric power supplier or basic generation service provider for the construction, purchase, or lease of a small modular nuclear reactor, to consider:
(1) whether, and to what extent, the small modular nuclear reactor proposed by the electric power supplier or basic generation service provider will replace a loss of generating capacity in the State, resulting from the retirement or planned retirement of one or more existing electric generating facilities, which are located in New Jersey and which use coal or natural gas a fuel source; and
(2) whether the small modular nuclear reactor that will replace an existing facility will be located on the same site as, or near, the existing facility and, if so, potential opportunities for the electric power supplier or basic generation service provider to make use of any land and existing infrastructure or facilities already owned or under the control of the electric power supplier or basic generation service provider, or create new employment opportunities for workers who have been, or would be, displaced as a result of the retirement of the existing facility.
The bill would also establish other requirements for the operation of small modular nuclear reactors, as enumerated in subsections c. through e. of section 3 of the bill, including a requirement that a person that owns or operates a small modular nuclear reactor in the State may not store spent nuclear fuel or high level radioactive waste from the small modular nuclear reactor on the site of the small modular nuclear reactor without first meeting all applicable requirements of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
