USA: Nuclear power plants will receive the majority of financing from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) loan office, Secretary Chris Wright said at the American Nuclear Society conference in Washington, D.C.
Wright explained that the department holds significant lending capacity and that nuclear projects will be the primary focus as the administration pushes to accelerate new reactor construction. “By far the biggest use of those dollars will be for nuclear power plants – to get those first plants built,” he said.
The announcement follows President Trump’s executive order to begin construction on ten large reactors by 2030. The administration has also struck an $80 B deal with the owners of Westinghouse to build nuclear plants nationwide. Westinghouse, jointly owned by Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management, will use its AP1000 reactor design, capable of supplying electricity to more than 750,000 homes.
Demand from artificial intelligence data centres is expected to fuel private investment in nuclear capacity, Wright noted. Major technology companies such as Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft are already funding projects to restart or upgrade reactors. The DOE loan office may provide up to four dollars of low-cost debt for every dollar of private equity invested.
“When we leave office three years and three months from now, I want to see hopefully dozens of nuclear plants under construction,” Wright said.
Despite the renewed optimism, Westinghouse’s past projects have faced delays and cost overruns, including the Vogtle and South Carolina plants. Two AP1000 reactors began operating in Georgia in 2023 and 2024, while another project was cancelled after running over budget.
Source: CNBC
