Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority -- Membership -- Director -- Purposes -- Duties -- Annual report
KRS 164.2802
in effect164.2802. Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority -- Membership -- Director -- Purposes -- Duties -- Annual report
(1) The Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority is hereby established and attached to the University of Kentucky Cent er for Applied Energy Research for administrative purposes. The mission of the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority shall be to:
(a) Serve as the nonregulatory, trusted state government agency on nuclear energy issues and development in the Common wealth; and
(b) Support and facilitate the development of the nuclear energy ecosystem across the Commonwealth in a collaborative manner that: 1. Enhances the Commonwealth's economy; 2. Offers energy production and economic development opportunities that are safe; 3. Protects the environment across the Commonwealth; 4. Supports community voices, especially in underrepresented or historically impacted areas; 5. Increases energy education; and 6. Prepares a future workforce.
(2) The Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority shall be governed by an advisory board consisting of the following twenty -two (22) voting members and eight (8) nonvoting members:
(a) Seven (7) state government members or their designees who shall be voti ng members: 1. The director of the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research, who shall serve as chair; 2. The secretary of the Energy and Environment Cabinet; 3. The secretary of the Cabinet for Economic Development; 4. The chair of the Public Service Commission; 5. The president of the Council on Postsecondary Education; 6. The secretary of the Education and Labor Cabinet; and 7. The director of the Division of Emergency Management;
(b) Fifteen (15) at-large members who shall be voting members: 1. A representative from each of the four (4) investor -owned electric utilities operating in the Commonwealth, designated by the president of each investor-owned electric utility, unless two (2) or more of the investor-owned electric utilities are operated under common ownership, in which case only one (1) representative shall be designated for the commonly owned utilities; 2. Three (3) representatives of electric cooperatives designated by the chief operating officer of the Kentucky Association of El ectric Cooperatives, as follows: a. One (1) of whom shall represent distribution cooperatives; and b. Two (2) of whom shall represent each of the generation and transmission electric cooperatives operating in the Commonwealth, unless they are operated unde r common ownership, in which case only one (1) representative shall be designated for the commonly owned generation and transmission electric cooperatives; 3. A representative of the Tennessee Valley Authority, designated by its chief nuclear officer; 4. A representative of municipal utilities, designated by the executive director of the Kentucky League of Cities; 5. A representative of nuclear site remediation services, designated by the director of business services for the Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership or by another organization that provides nuclear site remediation services; 6. A representative for environmental interests, designated by the executive director of the Kentucky Conservation Committee; 7. A representative of manufacturers, designated by t he president of the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers; 8. A representative for commercial interests, designated by the president of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce; 9. A mayor of a city, designated by the executive director of the Kentucky League of Cities, who lives in an "energy community" as that term is used in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Pub. L. No. 117 -169, and as it is defined in the latest guidance by the Internal Revenue Service; and 10. A county judge/executive, designated by the exe cutive director of the Kentucky Association of Counties, who lives in an "energy community" as that term is used in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Pub. L. No. 117-169, and as it is defined in the latest guidance by the Internal Revenue Service; and
(c) Eight (8) nonvoting members: 1. The president of the Nuclear Energy Institute, or designee; 2. A representative from a national nuclear educational nonprofit organization, designated by the chair and confirmed by a majority of the voting members; 3. A representative from a United States Department of Energy National Laboratory with expertise in nuclear energy policy issues, designated by the chair and confirmed by a majority of the voting members; 4. A representative from a nongovernmental nuclear pol icy advocacy organization, designated by the chair and confirmed by a majority of the voting members; 5. Two (2) members of the Senate, who shall serve as ex officio members, designated by the President of the Senate; and 6. Two (2) members of the House of Representatives, who shall serve as ex officio members, designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(3) State government members named in subsection (2)(a) of this section and members of the General Assembly named in subsection (2)(c)5. and 6. of this section shall serve on the advisory board during the terms of their appointed or elected state government positions. After the initial appointments, all other members of the advisory board shall serve terms of four (4) years. Members shall be eligible to succeed themselves and shall serve until their successors are appointed. A vacancy occurring during the term of any member shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
(4) A majority of the voting members of the advisory board shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of conducting business. The advisory board shall meet at least quarterly, or more often at the call of the chair.
(5) Members of the advisory board shall not be paid for their service as board members, and they shall not be reimbursed for any expenses relating to their attendance of board meetings.
(6) The advisory board shall hire a director of the authority who shall possess the skills and experience necessary to lead the authority effectively, promote the safe and responsible development of nuclear energy, publicize and encourage application to the Nuclear Energy Development Grant Program established in KRS 164.2803, and achieve the authority's purposes described in subsection (8) of this section.
(7) Beginning January 1, 2027, the authority shall provide to its advisory board members at least twenty (20) hours of training each year in any area relating to nuclear energy generation, siting, or policy.
(8) The purposes of the authority shall be to:
(a) Assist interested communities in understanding advanced nuclear opportunities, including the importance of secure, firm, cost-competitive power for customers and for economic development opportunities, as well as the potential for direct and indirect economic benefits associated with the employment and tax revenue generated from nuclear energy projects;
(b) Provide information to the public on the history of nuclear energy technologies in the Commonwealth, the status of existing nuclear energy projects within the Commonwealth, and the potential benefits and concerns associated with nuclear energy technologies;
(c) Develop the capacity for nuclear energy economic development in the Commonwealth, which shall include providing information to educational institutions on the types of career opportunities that will be available with the development of nuclear energy, building strong relationships with economic development professionals, promoting existing economic development incentives applicable to nuclear energy development, and seeking out new grants and other financial support for nuclear energy development;
(d) Seek greater clarity and certainty with stakeholders on financial support for early nuclear site permitting, the process for obtaining a nuclear power facility certificate of public convenience and necessity, and the recovery of construction work in progress for nuclear energy projects;
(e) Work with communities that have previously hosted nuclear-related activities and other communities facing a transition away from fossil fuels to empower those communities with the resources and information necessary to engage with regulators, developers, and decisionmakers on new nuclear power facilities, nuclear component manufacturing facilities, and fuel cycle facilities;
(f) Strengthen engagement with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission by reviewing current safety and security practices implemented at different types of nuclear energy facilities under their purview, promoting the streamlining of permitting efforts, and supporting the siting of interim and permanent nuclear storage facilities via the continued use of consent -based siting;
(g) Build the organizational capacity to engage and potentially convene a consortium of stakeholders interested in nuclear energy techno logies that would consist of utilities, environmental advocates, electric cooperatives, and major industrial companies in order to share best practices, including how to share risk associated with developing and constructing new nuclear power plants within the Commonwealth;
(h) Engage with the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, academic institutions, and private companies on efforts to develop deployable technologies to reprocess or recycle spent nuclear fuel;
(i) Maintain awareness of potential events that could initiate or accelerate the development of new nuclear energy technologies within the Commonwealth to allow the public to benefit from these projects;
(j) Through the nuclear energy development grant administration subcommittee , review and evaluate grant applications and make grant awards in accordance with KRS 164.2803; and
(k) Through the Nuclear Reactor Site Readiness Pilot Program, review and evaluate grant applications and make recommendations to the General Assembly for funding eligible projects.
(9) The authority, with the approval of the advisory board, shall:
(a) Propose and adopt bylaws for the management and operation of the authority, including for the Nuclear Energy Development Grant Program established in KRS 164.2803;
(b) Develop and adopt a strategic plan for carrying out the purposes of the authority described in subsection (8) of this section;
(c) Create and update at least once every two (2) years a nuclear energy economic impact analysis for the Commonwealth;
(d) Employ necessary staff to carry out the functions of the authority, including, subject to available funding, third-party consultants with the subject matter expertise to assist as needed with the studies, reviews, examinations, and recommendations for which the authority is responsible; and
(e) By December 1, 2025, and each December 1 thereafter, submit a report to the Governor and the Legislative Research Commission for referral to the Interim Joint Committees on Natural Resources and Energy, Appropriations and Revenue, and Economic Development and Workforce Investment providing: 1. A summary of the authority's activities and achievements since its last report; 2. The evaluations and scores of all nuclear energy development grant applications received and all grant awards made pursuant to KRS 164.2803 since its last report; 3. The evaluations, scores, and funding recommendations for applicants to the Nuclear Reactor Site Readiness Pilot Program established in KRS 164.2805; and 4. Recommendations for the support and expansion of the nuclear energy ecosystem in the Commonwealth.
Effective: July 15, 2026
History: Amended 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 56, sec. 4, effective July 15, 2026. -- Amended 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 51, sec. 2, effective March 24, 2025. -- Created 2024 Ky. Acts ch. 169, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2024. Legislative Research Commission Note (7/15/2024). 2024 Ky. Acts ch. 169, sec. 4, reads as follows: "Members named to the advisory board of the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority in subsection (2)(b) of Section 1 of this Act [this statute] shall serve initial terms of three years. Members named to the advisory board in subsection (2)(c)1. to 4. of Section 1 of this Act [this statute] shall serve initial terms of two years." Legislative Research Commission Note (7/15/2024). 2024 Ky. Acts ch. 169, sec. 7, reads as follows: "The Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority shall contract for services to develop and implement an education and marketing plan to educate the public on modern nuclear energy technology and to provide information on the potential benefits of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear energy technologies."
Source: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission (legislature.ky.gov)URL: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57402Fetched: 10/20/2026