{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-164.2805","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 164.2805","heading":"Nuclear Reactor Site Readiness Pilot Program -- Definitions for section --","body":"Grants -- Application process -- Eligibility.\n(1) As used in this section:\n(a) \"Affiliate\" means any person, partnership, or corporation that controls, is\ncontrolled by, or is under common control with, a utility;\n(b) \"Authority\" means the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority\nestablished in KRS 164.2802;\n(c) \"Combined operating license\" means a license issued by the United States\nNuclear Regulatory Commission pursuant to 10 C.F.R. sec. 52.71 et seq., or\nother licensing frameworks as may be adopted in federal regulations by the\nUnited States Nuclear Regulatory Commission for advanced nuclear\ngenerating reactors, that enables its holder to construct and operate a  nuclear\npower plant at a specific site;\n(d) \"Construction permit\" means a permit issued by the United States Nuclear\nRegulatory Commission pursuant to 10 C.F.R. pt. 50 that enables its holder to\nconstruct a nuclear power plant at a specific site;\n(e) \"Early site permit\" means a permit issued by the United States Nuclear\nRegulatory Commission pursuant to 10 C.F.R. sec. 52.12 et seq., that enables\nits holder to secure federal site approval for a nuclear power plant site prior to\nseeking an operating reactor license from the United States Nuclear\nRegulatory Commission;\n(f) \"Eligible applicant\" means any utility or any affiliate of a utility and any\ncurrent or prospective customer of a utility that is acting in partnership or\ncollaboration with the utility or the affiliate;\n(g) \"Generation III Plus\" means the generation of nuclear reactor design\nfollowing Generation III that incorporates passive and other safety measures\nand design improvements not included in previous nuclear reactor designs;\n(h) \"Generation IV\" means the nuclear reactor designs identified and selected by\nthe Generation IV International Forum as follows:\n1. Sodium-cooled fast reactors;\n2. Gas-cooled fast reactors;\n3. Lead-cooled fast reactors;\n4. Molten salt reactors;\n5. Supercritical water-cooled reactors; and\n6. Very high temperature reactors;\n(i) \"Nuclear energy generating facility\" means a facility containing a nuclear\nreactor of Generation III Plus, Generation IV, or later design that produces\nelectricity, at least some of which is sold to the public; and\n(j) \"Utility\" means a person, firm, corporation, association, cooperative\ncorporation, federally owned electric utility corporation, or municipal\ncorporation who owns, controls, operates, or manages any facility used or to\nbe used for or in connection with the generation, production, transmission, or\ndistribution of electricity to or for the public for compensation.\n(2) (a) The authority shall create and implement the Nuclear Reactor Site Readiness\nPilot Program to fac ilitate the application for and procurement of early site\npermits, construction permits, or combined operating licenses from the United\nStates Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the siting of new nuclear energy\ngenerating facilities in the Commonwealth.\n(b) Upon recommendation of the authority, the General Assembly may award\neligible applicants grant funding of up to one -third (1/3) of the actual costs\nincurred in applying for and procuring an early site permit, construction\npermit, or combined operating lic ense, not to exceed twenty -five million\ndollars ($25,000,000) per project.\n(c) The authority shall:\n1. Create grant applications;\n2. Establish grant applicant eligibility requirements;\n3. Establish objective scoring criteria to evaluate grant applications;\n4. Review any partnership agreement between eligible applicants for\nvalidity and completeness and to ensure that the agreement provides for\nthe surety bonding or similar security requirements required under\nsubsection (4) of this section and repayment res ponsibilities for all\npartners in the event that forfeiture and repayment of grant funding is\nrequired under subsection (5) of this section; and\n5. Make determinations on applicant eligibility and evaluate and score\neach eligible applicant's grant applicat ion, in consultation with the\nEnergy and Environment Cabinet's Office of Energy Policy and the\nCabinet for Economic Development, according to the following criteria:\na. The location, suitability, and previous use of the site for which the\nearly site permit , construction permit, or combined operating\nlicense is sought;\nb. The economic condition of the region where the new nuclear\nenergy generating facility would be located;\nc. The economic impact that the siting of a new nuclear energy\ngenerating facility would have in the region;\nd. Whether, in relation to other pending or past grant applications or\nawards under this section, the proposed site would be located in a\ngeographically diverse region of the Commonwealth;\ne. The amount of additional investment bein g made in the proposed\nproject by the eligible applicant or applicants or other sources; and\nf. Any other criteria the authority deems appropriate to evaluate.\n(d) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any information, data,\nor records prov ided as part of an application for grant funding under this\nsection shall be confidential and exempt from disclosure under the\nrequirements of KRS 61.870 to 61.884.\n(3) (a) To be eligible to apply for grant funding under this section, eligible applicants\nmust demonstrate that:\n1. The community where the proposed site of the new nuclear energy\ngenerating facility would be located has applied for a nuclear -ready\ncommunity designation under KRS 164.2804; and\n2. There would be material benefits, including but n ot limited to the\nprovision of electric utility service, job creation, and return on\ninvestment to the ratepayers and the impacted community to be served\nby the proposed new nuclear energy generating facility.\n(b) To be eligible to be awarded grant funding under this section, eligible\napplicants must demonstrate that the community where the proposed site of\nthe new nuclear energy generating facility would be located has received a\nnuclear-ready community designation under KRS 164.2804.\n(4) In exchange for any grant funding authorized by the General Assembly under this\nsection, the utility or the affiliate and any partners it may have shall procure a surety\nbond or other similar security acceptable to the authority in  the amount of the grant\nfunding to be awarded. The surety bond or similar security shall bind the principal\nor principals and the surety to the Commonwealth to repay all grant moneys\nforfeited pursuant to subsection (5) of this section. The surety bond or  other similar\nsecurity shall be continuous and remain in effect until the completion of the\nconstruction of the nuclear energy generating facility for which the permit or\nlicense was issued or upon the repayment of all forfeited grant funds pursuant to\nsubsection (5) of this section. Any cancellation of the bond or similar security shall\nnot occur until thirty (30) days written notice is provided by the provider of the\nsurety bond or other similar security to the authority.\n(5) A grant funding recipient an d all of its partners shall forfeit and repay all grant\nfunding awarded under this section within sixty (60) days of:\n(a) If it has not already done so, failing to apply to the United States Nuclear\nRegulatory Commission for an early site permit within one  (1) year of\nreceiving any grant funding under this section;\n(b) Failing to apply to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a\nconstruction permit or combined operating license for a nuclear energy\ngenerating facility, or for a necessary licens e issued under other licensing\nframeworks that may be adopted in federal regulations by the United States\nNuclear Regulatory Commission for advanced nuclear generating reactors, for\nwhich an early site permit was awarded within five (5) years of obtaining the\nearly site permit. The authority may approve extensions of the deadline\nestablished by this paragraph in one (1) year increments for good cause\nshown;\n(c) Failing to commence construction of the nuclear energy generating facility for\nwhich all necessar y permits or licenses have been awarded by the United\nStates Nuclear Regulatory Commission within ten (10) years of obtaining all\nnecessary permits or licenses. The authority may approve extensions of the\ndeadline established by this paragraph in one (1) y ear increments for good\ncause shown; or\n(d) The transferring of the entirety of a utility's or affiliate's interest in the early\nsite permit, the construction permit, or the combined operating license to an\nentity other than another utility prior to the co mmencement of construction of\nthe nuclear energy generating facility for which a permit or license was\nawarded, unless the authority finds that the transfer is in the best interest of\nthe Commonwealth.","path":["KRS Chapter 164"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57400","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:14Z","sha256":"b47f11f155e2b29d8eb65740bd34c7b64cf9710ff1083203c479b61ee6d5ed29","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-164.2804","next":"us-ky/krs-164.2807"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}