U.S. backs 10 nuclear reactors with $17.5B loans to meet 24/7 clean power demand

For climate and energy analysts, this marks a significant federal push to decarbonize the grid with firm, dispatchable nuclear power. As renewables struggle with intermittency, the 10 new Westinghouse AP1000 reactors—each 1.1 GW—will deliver carbon-free electricity 24/7, directly addressing the soaring energy needs of AI-driven data centers. The program could become the largest expansion of nuclear capacity in decades, but must overcome the cost and timeline overruns that plagued Vogtle.

The Trump administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy, has announced a $17.5 billion loan program to accelerate the construction of 10 large nuclear reactors across five sites, marking the most ambitious federal nuclear initiative since the 1970s. The loans are explicitly aimed at meeting skyrocketing electricity demand from massive data centers, which are expanding rapidly to support artificial intelligence workloads. Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated that the program will lower construction costs and shorten deployment timelines by up to three years by financing the long-lead components—reactor vessels, steam generators, and other complex equipment—that have historically caused delays and budget overruns.

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Department of Energy, has announced a $17.5 billion loan program to accelerate the construction of 10 large nuclear reactors across five sites, marking the most ambitious federal nuclear initiative since the 1970s.

The reactors will all use Westinghouse’s AP1000 design, a 1.1-gigawatt pressurized water reactor that has been licensed and proven, most notably at Georgia’s Plant Vogtle. That project, the only new U.S. nuclear build in recent decades, suffered a $16 billion overrun and years of delays, which Wright attributed to supply chain disruption, poor planning, and the pandemic. The new program aims to avoid those pitfalls by building multiple identical units simultaneously, creating economies of scale and a rejuvenated domestic nuclear supply chain. Wright expressed confidence that the volume approach will yield significant cost and time improvements over Vogtle.

The financial structure is innovative: the loans will not go directly to Westinghouse but to five special purpose vehicles (SPVs), each supporting a two-reactor project. To unlock the loan money, Westinghouse and its partners must contribute nearly $1 billion in equity per SPV, ensuring substantial private-sector skin in the game. Seven utilities and energy companies have already signed letters of intent with identified sites, from which the DOE will select five. The administration expects big tech firms—the driving force behind nuclear revival—to sign long-term power purchase agreements, replicating moves by Microsoft and Google, which have previously supported reactor restarts at Three Mile Island and Duane Arnold.