Biden launches $6B effort to save distressed nuclear plants

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is launching a $6 billion effort to rescue nuclear power plants at risk of closing, citing the need to continue nuclear energy as a carbon-free source of power that helps to combat climate change.

FILE— A sign warning of radioactive materials is seen on a fence around a nuclear reactor containment building on Monday, April 26, 2021, a few days before it stopped generating electricity at Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan, N.Y. The Biden administration is launching a $6 billion effort to save nuclear power plants at risk of closing, citing the need to continue nuclear energy as a carbon-free source of power that helps to combat climate change. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

A certification and bidding process opened Tuesday for a civil nuclear credit program that is intended to bail out financially distressed owners or operators of nuclear power reactors.

It’s the largest federal investment in saving financially distressed nuclear reactors, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

The first round of awards will prioritize reactors that have already announced plans to close.

A dozen U.S. reactors closed in the past decade before their licenses expired.

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