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This section establishes the Accelerating Reliable Capacity Program to increase cost certainty for qualifying advanced nuclear energy projects receiving loans from the Federal Financing Bank that are guaranteed under section 1703 or 1706 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16513, 16517). A qualifying project is an advanced nuclear energy project (i.e., for one or more advanced nuclear reactors, defined by reference to section 951(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271(b)), modified to compare to reactors operating in the United States as of enactment of the Energy Act of 2020) that (1) is expected to be constructed on time and on budget, as determined by the Secretary of Energy; (2) is capital-intensive, grid-connected, and has a guaranteed loan amount at least twice the funds obligated to the project under this section; and (3) prior to financial close, has an approved project delivery plan from the Director of the Loan Programs Office and approved planning documents from the Secretary, including a Class 2 cost estimate with risk analysis, resource-loaded integrated project schedule with risk analysis, labor survey analysis with risk analysis, and oversight procedures such as annual rolling schedule forecasts and quarterly progress meetings with stakeholders. The section defines related terms, including "account" for the Accelerating Reliable Capacity Program Account, "overrun," "point base estimate," and "expected payment amount" (i.e., the amount the Director expects to pay the Federal Financing Bank upon the project's placement in service). (Thus, the program enables the Loan Programs Office to manage cost overruns on capital-intensive advanced nuclear projects backed by DOE loan guarantees.)
This section expands exceptions under Section 50141(d)(3) of P.L. 117-169 to the denial of double benefits for certain clean energy projects by adding the following categories: (1) projects partnering with, including projects owned by or under the control of, a federal power marketing administration or the Tennessee Valley Authority; (2) projects partnering with an entity that procures energy for a military installation managed by the Secretary of Defense or a Department of Defense contractor, or with the General Services Administration for energy procurement; (3) projects benefiting from National Laboratories (i.e., 17 DOE-owned laboratories such as Argonne National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, as defined in 42 U.S.C. 15801) or user facilities for testing, data collection, permitting, or other allowable uses, as determined by the Secretary of Energy; and (4) projects using nuclear fuel procured under the Nuclear Fuel Security Act of 2023.