This gang absolutely can not shoot straight. I’ve pointed out how this clown show has knee capped the Secretary of Energy’s own company , and how Oil executives are fuming about the dysfunctional, leaderless, unguided missiles that DOGE and Trump’s dopey DOE are lobbing in every direction.
Oh, and that nuclear that every Republican tells you he loves, oh, right.
Nearly 60 percent of staff at the U.S. Department of Energy’s nuclear-friendly Loan Programs Office may be lost through President Trump’s deferred resignation program, the Washington Examiner reported.
According to the news outlet, 123 of the 210 current LPO employees have opted into the retirement buyout, which would amount to a 58.5 percent staffing cut in the office that helps finance new nuclear projects among other energy proposals. There is a 45-day period for federal employees older than 40 to change their minds, which could impact the final number of exiting staff.
These potential losses prompted Thomas Hochman, director of infrastructure policy for the nonprofit Foundation for American Innovation, to organize a letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright, cosigned by dozens of organizations, including nuclear companies, advocacy groups, and labor organizations.
As of April 11, the extended deadline for the deferred resignation program, the DOE did not have final numbers to report on how many people had opted into the retirement program, according to the Washington Examiner.
Programs that Could Directly Support Deployment of New Nuclear – Nuclear Energy Institute:
Clean Electricity Production Credit – 45Y
The Inflation Reduction Act created a new technology-neutral tax credit for all clean electricity technologies, including advanced nuclear and power uprates that are placed into service in 2025 or after. The bill does not change the existing Advanced Nuclear Production Tax Credit but precludes credits from being claimed under both programs. The value of the credit will be at least $30 per megawatt-hour, depending on inflation, for the first ten years of plant operation. The credit phases out when carbon emissions from electricity production are 75 percent below the 2022 level.
Here is a link to the statutory language.
Clean Electricity Investment Credit
As an alternative to the clean electricity PTC, the Inflation Reduction Act provided the option of claiming a clean electricity investment credit for zero-emissions facilities that is placed into service in 2025 or
thereafter. This provides a credit of 30 percent of the investment in a new zero-carbon electricity facility, including nuclear plants. Like the other credits, this investment tax credit can be monetized. The ITC phases out under the same provisions as the clean electricity PTC.
Here is a link to the Statutory Language.
Both the clean electricity PTC and ITC include a 10-percentage point bonus for facilities sited in certain energy communities such as those that have hosted coal plants.
Credit for Production from Advanced Nuclear Power Facilities
The nuclear production tax credit 26 USC 45J provides a credit of 1.8 cents per kilowatt/hour up to a maximum of $125 million per tax year for 8 years. Only the first 6000 MW of new capacity installed after
2005 for a design approved after 1993 are eligible for the tax credit. The credit does not include a direct pay provision, so the owner will need to have offsetting taxable income to claim the credit or transfer the credit to an eligible project partner.
Here is a link to the statutory language.
Loan Program Office
The DOE Loan Program Office (LPO) has loan guarantees available for advanced nuclear projects. The loan guarantees can be for advanced nuclear reactors including small modular reactors, uprates and upgrades at existing facilities and front-end of the fuel cycle projects (conversion, enrichment and fuel
fabrication). LPO can offer 100% guarantee of U.S. Treasury’s Federal Finance Bank (FFB) loans or partial guarantees of commercial loans.
This links to a slide deck providing an overview of LPO and a fact sheet on the advanced nuclear energy loan guarantees.
LTE in the Wall Street Journal:
“DOGE Plans Sharp Clean-Energy Cuts” (U.S. News, April 18) rightly warns that proposed cuts at key Energy Department funding offices threaten America’s edge in energy innovation.
At the Foundation for American Innovation, we advocate policies that bolster technological progress. The Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office, or LPO, drives critical advancements in nuclear power, critical minerals and grid infrastructure that power economic growth and counter China’s heavy investments in these sectors. Its loans unlock vital capital for strategic U.S. infrastructure projects, creating high-wage jobs and strengthening national security. The LPO is on track to return more to the Treasury than was originally outlayed—making it not merely an investment in America’s energy future but a financially sound one as well.
The Department of Government Efficiency’s proposed staff reductions at the LPO would make it impossible for the office to issue new loans or even close existing conditional commitments. These cuts endanger not one or two American energy companies but national energy dominance itself. The administration must act to preserve the office. America’s energy future and the president’s agenda depend on a robust LPO to fuel innovation and maintain our competitive advantage.
Thomas Hochman
Foundation for American Innovation
Washington
