N.J. Stat. § 48:9A-9: Program established to promote construction of affordable advanced nuclear energy projects.

4. a. The board shall establish a program, in accordance with the provisions of this act, to promote the construction of affordable advanced nuclear energy projects in the State.

b. No later than 180 days after the effective date of this act, the board, in consultation with the authority, shall issue a request for expressions of interest for the construction of advanced nuclear energy projects in the State.

c. Any entity wishing to construct an advanced nuclear energy project and obtain qualified project status shall file with the board, no later than 60 days following publication of the request pursuant to subsection b. of this section, an expression of interest, which shall include, but need not be limited to, the following:

(1) a letter of intent filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission;

(2) a proposed licensing pathway under the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, including identification of any applicable Early Site Permit, design certification, or other prior Nuclear Regulatory Commission determinations on which the project intends to rely;

(3) proposed State and municipal permitting pathways;

(4) a Regulatory Engagement Plan, prepared consistently with Nuclear Regulatory Commission guidance, which shall set forth:

(a) the developer’s organizational structure;

(b) the project’s design and indicative construction timeline, including the anticipated completion date; and

(c) pre-application engagement materials submitted to, or prepared for, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission;

(5) geotechnical, hydrological, and environmental analyses of the proposed site sufficient to support the regulatory requirements of 10 C.F.R. Part 51, or a copy of any Early Site Permit issued pursuant to 10 C.F.R. s.52.12 et seq.;

(6) a technical description of the proposed system design and technology structure, including reference to any applicable design certification issued under 10 C.F.R. Part 52, Subpart B, and any deviations from the certified design;

(7) a Class IV or better cost estimate, presenting projected construction and operating costs as a reasoned range, together with the assumptions, methodology, and reference projects underlying the estimate, inclusive of budgeted risk and contingency value that is designed to reflect the unique risks associated with the development, construction, and operation of a nuclear generating facility;

(8) the proposed capital structure and financing plan, identifying committed or prospective investors or lenders, and any proposed or anticipated sources of construction-phase funding, including evidence that the project is pursuing and has a reasonable expectation of receiving debt financing from the United States Department of Energy or Department of Commerce covering all or a portion of construction costs, provided that this requirement shall apply only to the extent such federal financing is reasonably available at the time of submission;

(9) the proposed annual volume of megawatt hours of energy to be delivered to the electrical grid serving the State and the proposed amount of megawatts of capacity, as defined in the PJM Open Access Transmission Tariff, to be made available to the PJM Reliability Pricing Model capacity market, the Fixed Resource Requirement, or any other procurement program operated by PJM, as appropriate;

(10) if applicable, the existing nuclear reactor baseline;

(11) any proposed direct power purchase agreements, co-located end-use agreements, or other energy offtake agreements, together with a description of anticipated ratepayer benefits and any commitment by the parties to share in the capital costs and any potential cost overruns, and the role that the agreements play in financing the project;

(12) the proposed RCC price structure and schedule under section 7 of this act, reflecting total project revenue requirements over a term not to exceed 40 years, stated as total net present value and on a per-megawatt-hour production basis, inclusive of budgeted risk and contingency value, and presented as a range corresponding to the range of construction costs in the Class IV cost estimate submitted under paragraph (7) of this subsection, with stated low and high bounds for the per-megawatt-hour RCC value;

(13) a projection of the anticipated monthly bill impact on ratepayers resulting from the proposed RCC price structure and schedule throughout the term of the proposal;

(14) a proposal for returning to New Jersey ratepayers some or all revenues earned by the qualified project from the sale of energy, capacity, or ancillary services in PJM during the RCC term, together with revenue projections and a contingency plan in the event the qualified project is unable to participate in the above-listed wholesale markets at PJM;

(15) a comprehensive economic impact and community benefit analysis addressing projected effects on employment, wages, household income, State and local tax revenue, regional economic activity, and infrastructure, including, but not limited to:

(a) a fiscal impact analysis detailing projected direct, indirect, and induced State and local tax revenues, as well as any anticipated Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreements with the host municipality or municipalities;

(b) a demonstration of a project financing gap, including an analysis of the projected internal rate of return with and without the proposed State support, and any identified federal support, including tax incentives, to justify the financial necessity of the RCC price structure proposed pursuant to paragraph (12) of this subsection;

(c) an assessment of the benefits of the project, including the project’s role in meeting New Jersey’s resource adequacy requirements and how the project will exert downward pressure on PJM wholesale market prices;

(d) an assessment of the potential capacity or wholesale market savings and benefits of the project compared to comparable investments in other non-emitting technologies;

(e) a workforce development and labor plan, which shall include estimates of temporary construction and permanent operations jobs, a commitment to enter into a project labor agreement and pay prevailing wages for any construction services in State or to pay the wages and benefits provided in a collective bargaining agreement between a labor organization as defined in 29 U.S.C. s.152(5) and the employer covering the work, and proposed partnerships with local educational or workforce training institutions;

(f) a supply chain plan detailing realistic and cost-effective opportunities to utilize local suppliers, any known or contracted suppliers, and known or likely supply chain challenges and planned mitigation strategies;

(g) a proposed Community Benefits Agreement or a detailed framework for negotiating such an agreement with the host municipality and local stakeholders; and

(h) a holistic economic assessment of the project, specifically detailing its capacity to attract, support, or retain large-scale commercial and industrial ratepayer load, including, but not limited to, advanced manufacturing facilities and data centers, and impacts on electric utility customer bills caused by the RCC;

(16) an environmental benefit analysis, including:

(a) a quantitative estimate of the total net greenhouse gas emissions avoided or displaced by the project’s construction and operation compared to existing and new fossil fuel-fired generation in the PJM region;

(b) an assessment of the project’s impact on criteria air pollutants, including nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter;

(c) a description of the proposed project’s impact on local water resources, including cooling water usage and thermal discharge, and a plan for minimizing the physical footprint on sensitive habitats or preserved lands;

(d) a high-level plan for the management and on-site storage of spent nuclear fuel and any low-level radioactive waste, emphasizing safety and long-term environmental protection; and

(e) a formal statement demonstrating how the project supports the State’s clean energy goals and the emissions reduction targets established in the “Global Warming Response Act,” P.L.2007, c.112 (C.26:2C-37 et seq.); and

(17) any additional information deemed necessary by the board, in consultation with the authority.

d. An expression of interest shall create no contractual obligation between the State and the applicant, and the board’s preliminary evaluation shall not commit the State to enter into a stipulation or to issue a final board order.

e. The board shall undertake a preliminary evaluation of all proposed projects and provisionally qualify, or deny provisional qualification of, each proposed project no more than 90 days after receipt by the board of a complete expression of interest. The board may grant provisional qualification to one or more proposed projects. The board, in consultation with the Division of Rate Counsel, in, but not of, the Department of the Treasury, Department of Environmental Protection, and any other State agency the board deems appropriate, shall grant provisional qualification status upon a threshold finding that:

(1) a proposed advanced nuclear energy project is reasonably likely to significantly contribute to meeting the State’s energy reliability, resilience, and capacity needs, consistent with the State’s clean energy goals;

(2) the range of RCC values presented under paragraph (12) of subsection c. of this section would produce, at one or more values within the range, a net benefit to ratepayers when compared to alternative means of meeting the State’s energy reliability and capacity needs over the term of the proposed RCC, considering capacity factor, ELCC, operational life, fuel security, the reliability and resilience contributions of the project to the State’s electric system, the contribution of the project to the State’s clean energy and emissions reduction goals, and the projected monthly bill impact at the low and high bounds of the range. The board’s finding under this paragraph shall not constrain its findings under section 6 of this act; and

(3) if the board considers granting provisional qualification to more than one project, the board shall evaluate the cumulative ratepayer impact of all such projects. The board shall not grant provisional qualification to any additional project if doing so would cause the cumulative ratepayer impact to become unreasonable or excessive as determined under paragraph (4) of subsection a. of section 6 of this act

f. In determining whether to grant provisional qualification status to one or more proposed projects, the board shall assess whether the projects with an energy offtake agreement include one or more of the following provisions:

(1) the energy buyer would agree to pay a per-megawatt-hour price greater than the RCC price set in the final board order issued under section 6 of this act and as may be adjusted pursuant to subsection e. of section 6 of this act;

(2) the energy buyer would share construction development risk that would otherwise be allocated to a qualified project entity as a non-performance cost;

(3) the energy buyer either holds or agrees to hold an equity stake in the proposed project; or

(4) otherwise provides benefits to ratepayers, as determined by the board.

g. If the board grants provisional qualification status to a proposed project, it shall issue a board order to that effect, which shall include an RCC price range corresponding to the range of construction costs in the Class IV estimate pursuant to this section and the megawatt output of the project eligible for RCCs, and all other terms proposed by the project. If applicable, the board shall also establish the existing nuclear reactor baseline in its order designating provisional qualification.

L.2026, c.42, s.4.