DOE offers $17.5 billion in loans to revive US nuclear fleet

The US Energy Department is betting $17.5 billion in low-cost financing can jumpstart construction of 10 large-scale nuclear reactors by 2030.

The US Energy Department conditionally committed $17.5 billion in loans to finance long-lead equipment for up to 10 Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactors, the largest federal bet on atomic power in decades.

"The loan facilities help advance President Trump's Executive Order and provide the certainty needed to enhance the domestic nuclear supply chain and accelerate construction of nuclear projects that will deliver reliable baseload power around the country for decades to come," Connor Teskey, chief executive officer of Brookfield Asset Management, said.

The DOE's Office of Energy Dominance Financing will back up to five loans, each supporting two 1.1-gigawatt Westinghouse reactors at a single project site. Eligible utilities and energy companies must commit $500 million each alongside Westinghouse before accessing the funds. Seven utilities have expressed interest so far, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters, though he declined to name them.

The financing aims to accelerate construction timelines by as much as three years, targeting 10 reactors under construction by 2030. Wright said the program has drawn strong interest from data center hyperscalers — tech giants running global cloud and AI infrastructure — as surging electricity demand strains existing grids.

The AP1000, a pressurized water reactor generating 1.1 GW per unit, is one of the few advanced reactor designs already certified by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Westinghouse, jointly owned by Brookfield and its institutional partners (51%) and Cameco Corp. (49%), will supply the reactors at a fixed price under the program.

The conditional commitment requires Westinghouse and its utility partners to satisfy technical, legal, environmental, and financial conditions before the DOE enters into definitive financing documents. "This is not a risky endeavor," Wright said.

Who Wins, Who Loses

Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM), which manages over $1 trillion in assets, stands to benefit directly as majority owner of Westinghouse. Cameco, the world's largest publicly traded uranium producer, holds the remaining 49% and would gain from increased reactor demand. For utilities, the fixed-price reactor contracts reduce construction cost risk — a key barrier that has plagued previous US nuclear projects, including the Vogtle expansion in Georgia, which ran billions over budget and faced years of delays.

The program also signals a shift in federal energy policy toward large-scale nuclear as a solution for baseload power demand from data centers. The Edison Electric Institute projects US electricity demand could grow 15% to 20% by 2030, driven largely by AI data center buildout. Nuclear's 24/7 output positions it as a direct competitor to natural gas-fired generation in serving that load.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.