The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Tuesday $17.5 billion in conditional loans for utilities and energy companies to purchase parts needed to strengthen the U.S. commercial nuclear supply chain.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters the loans will help the U.S. achieve its goal of having 10 new large-scale nuclear reactors under construction by 2030, potentially accelerating that timeline by three years.
The U.S. industry has struggled to attract investment because nuclear projects are capital‑intensive, prone to cost overruns and subject to complex regulations, making them riskier than cheaper, quicker alternatives such as natural gas and renewables.
The loans would help companies procure items such as reactor vessels and steam generators, which can take years to secure, and potentially reduce the time to build large AP1000 nuclear plants.
Wright said the loans have attracted strong interest from data center hyperscalers — tech giants that run global cloud and computing infrastructure — and energy companies, as U.S. electricity demand soars with the rapid buildout of data centers to power AI capabilities.
“We are confident that these projects will be economic for utility shareholders, ratepayers and hyperscalers,” Wright said.
The loan announcement comes months after the DOE announced an $80 billion agreement with Westinghouse Electric’s owners, Canada-based Cameco (CCO.TO), and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.N), in which the government would arrange financing and help secure permits for the Westinghouse reactors in exchange for a 20% share of future profits.
LOANS TO SUPPORT WESTINGHOUSE REACTORS
The Energy Department’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing, formerly known as the Loan Programs Office, will back up to five loans, each of which will support two 1.1-gigawatt Westinghouse reactors per site.
Westinghouse will partner with up to five utilities and energy companies nationwide that will procure the reactors and other “long-lead” supply chain needs at a fixed price.
Wright said seven utilities have expressed interest, but would not disclose their names or project locations.
Each project will be jointly owned by Westinghouse and a utility or energy company, each required to commit $500 million before accessing DOE funds.
“This is not a risky endeavor,” Wright said.
During President Donald Trump’s first term, the only use he made of the then-Loan Programs Office was for financing reactors at Georgia’s Vogtle nuclear power plant.