Section 1

Enacts Part 8A, Article 10, GS Chapter 143B, to be cited as "The Clean Energy and Innovation Act." Lists four purposes of the act and four applicable defined terms. Establishes the Clean Energy Development Program (program) in the Department of Commerce (Department) to comprise four elements as follows. Directs the Department to develop a grant program for institutions of higher education in the state, in conjunction with UNC and the Community Colleges System Office (System Office), to expedite and facilitate the expansion of nuclear technology and clean energy training programs. Directs the Department to develop a grant program in conjunction with UNC and the System Office for subsidizing the costs of qualifying employers for paid apprenticeship positions for students in institutions of higher education in the state to promote direct-to-hire pathways for participating students to be prepared for and immediately fill nuclear energy industry workforce needs. Defines qualifying employer. Directs the Department to develop a scholarship program in conjunction with UNC and the System Office for students attending institutions of higher education in the state to offset the cost of tuition and materials for degrees or certifications in nuclear engineering, electrical engineering, energy sector trade skills, and public health radiation protection programs. Requires the scholarship program to include financial assistance for energy sector workers that have been displaced by the closure of coal-fired plants seeking to transition skills to nuclear energy generation and technologies. Directs the Department to develop, in conjunction with UNC, the System Office, and the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, a fast-track initiative for qualifying veterans to facilitate and expedite training, licensure, and transition into civilian nuclear energy needs. Defines qualifying veteran. Requires the initiative to include a scholarship component for veterans attending institutions of higher education in the state to offset the cost of relocation, tuition, and materials for degrees, licensure, or certifications in nuclear engineering and related nuclear technologies, certification exams, and specialized career coaching. Lists duties and requirements of the Department with regard to the application process and award of funds for each of the four programs and initiatives described.

Directs the Department to collaborate with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the Utilities Commission, and any other relevant State agency or entity to conduct a study on the feasibility and potential benefits of establishing Nuclear Innovation Zones in the state. Lists seven required components of the study, including potential incentives to encourage private-sector participation, and a review of potential State-backed financial mechanisms for nuclear deployment. Directs the Department to submit a final report with findings and recommendations to the specified NCGA committee by December 31, 2025.

Section 2

Reenacts and amends Article 3J, GS Chapter 105, governing tax credits for growing businesses, as follows. Repeals GS 105-129.80 (Legislative findings). Deletes the following defined terms from GS 105-129.81: agrarian growth zone, air courier services, aircraft maintenance and repair, company headquarters, customer service call center, electronic shopping and mail order houses, establishment, hub, information technology and services, motorsports facility, motorsports racing team, port enhancement zone, research and development, urban progress zone, warehousing, and wholesale trade. Adds and defines the terms clean energy manufacturing and qualifying clean energy manufacturer.

Amends GS 105-129.82, eliminating the requirement for the Department to biennially study and report to the NCGA on the effect of the tax incentives provided by Article 3J on tax equity. Changes the date by which the first report of the remaining required study, requiring the Department to study and report to the NCGA on the effectiveness of the tax incentives under the Article, making the first biennial report due by June 1, 2026 (was, 2009).

Restructures the eligibility requirements for the tax credit under the Article set forth in GS 105-129.83. Previously, listed twelve primary activities performed at an establishment which would qualify the establishment for the credit. Now, limits the credit to a taxpayer for activities occurring at a location whose primary activity is clean energy manufacturing, defined as the manufacture in this state of small or modular reactors, small modular reactor components, reactor modules, or nuclear fuel assemblies. Makes changes throughout the Article to refer to a location rather than an establishment, and refer to the singular eligible activity. Deletes subsection (b), providing credit eligibility for described company headquarters. Amends subsection (c), governing the wage standard a taxpayer must satisfy for credit eligibility by eliminating requirements specified for jobs located within urban progress zones, a port enhancement zone, or an agrarian growth zone. Regarding health insurance requirements set forth in subsection (d), provides that the taxpayer provides health insurance if it pays at least 50% of the premiums for health care coverage that equals or exceeds the minimum requirements for small group health benefit plans under State or federal law (was, that equals or exceeds the minimum provisions of the basic health care plan of coverage recommended by the Small Employer Carrier Committee under GS 58-50-125). Deletes provisions relating to credit for planned expansions in urban progress zones, a port enhancement zone, or agrarian growth zone designation. Makes conforming changes.

Amends GS 105-129.84, limiting the credits provided in the Article to income taxes levied in Article 4 of the Chapter (previously also included franchise taxes levied in Article 3 and gross premiums taxes levied in Article 8B). Eliminates the provisions permitting unused portions of credits to carryforward under the Article and makes changes throughout the Article to remove references to carrying forward credits.

Repeals GS 105-129.87 (Credit for creating jobs), GS 105-129.88 (Credit for investing in business property), and GS 105-129.89 (Credit for investment in real property). Makes conforming changes to remove reference to these repealed sections throughout the Article.

Enacts GS 105-129.90, establishing a new credit for a qualifying clean energy manufacturer, defined as a manufacturer of small modular reactors, small modular reactor components, reactor modules, or nuclear fuel assemblies in the state. Further requires that the manufacturer meets the eligibility requirements under GS 105-129.83, as amended, and satisfies the new section's requirements for job creation and investment during the taxable year. Provides for the calculation of credits as amounts equal to a percentage of the manufacturer's cumulative amount of income taxes for the taxable year for a number of years (50% for locations that are retired fossil fuel plant sites located in the state with existing transmission infrastructure and cooling water access; 30% for any other location), and based on job and investment thresholds (ranging from 25 jobs and $1.5 million investment for three years of credit, to 100 jobs and $5 million investment for five years of credit). Details calculations for job and investment thresholds applicable to the new credit, including that (1) if the taxpayer creates new jobs at more than one eligible location during the taxable year, the threshold applies to the aggregate number of new jobs created at all eligible locations within the eligible counties during that year and (2) if, in one of the years in which the credit remains, the property with respect to which the credit was claimed is no longer used in clean energy manufacturing, the credit expires and the taxpayer is not allowed the credit in any years remaining. 

Section 2 is effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2025.