The administration of Donald Trump announced a funding program of USD 17.5 billion to accelerate the construction of 10 large-scale nuclear reactors in the United States
The U.S. Department of Energy announced a USD 17.5 billion loan program aimed at accelerating the construction of 10 new large-scale nuclear reactors at various locations across the country.
The initiative was presented by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who stated that the funding will reduce construction costs and expedite the commissioning of projects by up to three years.
According to the official, the funds will be used to finance complex industrial components whose manufacturing typically requires long lead times and represents one of the main bottlenecks for the development of new nuclear power plants.
Five projects and ten AP1000 reactors
The plan includes the construction of five nuclear complexes, each equipped with two AP1000 reactors developed by Westinghouse.
Each reactor has a generation capacity of approximately 1.1 gigawatts, enough to supply more than 800,000 homes.
The AP1000 technology is considered one of the most advanced on the market and has already been used in several recent nuclear projects both inside and outside the United States.
Five projects and ten AP1000 reactors
Artificial intelligence drives energy demand
One of the main drivers behind this nuclear expansion is the explosive growth in electricity demand caused by data centers linked to artificial intelligence.
The Trump administration believes that the development of AI will require enormous amounts of reliable and constant energy, something that renewable sources alone cannot guarantee.
"Large tech companies will be key players in these projects", stated Greg Beard, head of the Department of Energy's loan office.
Washington's expectation is that tech companies will sign long-term power purchase agreements to financially support the construction of the new plants.
Westinghouse will lead the projects
The company Westinghouse will work alongside selected electric and energy companies to develop the projects.
Although the exact locations have not yet been revealed, Secretary Wright indicated that the potential sites are distributed across various regions of the country.
The company has already signed letters of intent with seven potential partners, each with identified land for future facilities.
How the financing will work
The loans will not be delivered directly to Westinghouse.
According to the Department of Energy, the resources will be channeled through specific financial vehicles for each project, while Westinghouse and its partners will need to contribute about USD 1 billion in private capital per project to access federal financing.
The scheme aims to ensure that companies take on part of the risk and accelerate the execution of the works.
Trump's energy bet
The initiative represents one of the largest federal investments in nuclear energy in recent decades and is part of the Trump administration's strategy to strengthen U.S. industrial capacity, secure energy supply, and maintain technological competitiveness against powers like China.
With electricity demand growing at an unprecedented rate due to the advancement of artificial intelligence and the digitalization of the economy, the White House bets that nuclear energy will once again become one of the central pillars of the U.S. energy system.
