Nuclear Reactor Funding
US Energy Department loans $17.5 billion to accelerate deployment of 10 nuclear reactors.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced a conditional $17.5 billion loan commitment on June 23, 2026, to finance the construction of 10 large nuclear reactors — the largest federal nuclear investment in decades. The loans will fund so-called "long-lead items," the massive reactor components that take three to five years to manufacture and have historically stalled U.S. nuclear projects before they even break ground, according to Associated Press.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the loans will "help accelerate the timeline by up to three years." The plan calls for five sites, each hosting two reactors, with construction starting by 2030 and power flowing by the mid-2030s.
How the Government Plans to Avoid Another Vogtle Disaster
The last major U.S. nuclear project, Georgia Power's Plant Vogtle, became a cautionary tale — years behind schedule and billions over budget. To avoid repeating that, the DOE's Office of Energy Dominance Financing is changing tactics. Rather than funding full construction, it is targeting "long-lead items" (LLIs): reactor pressure vessels, steam generators, and coolant pumps that take 42 to 54 months to build, according to Platts.
By ordering these parts before sites are even fully permitted, the government aims to fix a supply chain bottleneck that has scared off private utilities for decades. Each project partner and Westinghouse must first commit $500 million each — $1 billion total upfront per site — before any federal money flows, according to Utility Dive.
Trump's Executive Order Sparked a Full Nuclear Push
President Trump signed Executive Order 14302 on May 23, 2025, setting a target of 10 new large reactors under construction by 2030. The broader goal is to quadruple U.S. nuclear capacity from roughly 100 gigawatts today to 400 gigawatts by 2050, according to World Nuclear News. The country currently runs 94 reactors.
The June 23 loan announcement is the most concrete step yet toward that goal. On June 25, Secretary Wright visited Idaho National Laboratory to highlight what the administration calls a "nuclear renaissance." Separately, on June 18, the White House launched the Utility Power Reactor Incremental Scaling Effort (UPRISE) to scale reactor infrastructure faster, according to Bloomberg.
AI Boom and Energy Demand Drive Urgency for Reactors
Secretary Wright explicitly tied the reactors to the artificial intelligence race. Data center operators are among the most interested buyers of the new power. Westinghouse CEO Dan Sumner put it plainly: "If we want to lead in artificial intelligence... we need more American baseload energy," according to a Westinghouse press release.
Analysts at Capstone identified Dominion Energy, DTE Energy, Entergy, PSEG, and WEC Energy Group as the most likely project partners, given their existing nuclear sites and licensing progress, according to Latitude Media. The DOE has seven candidate partners competing for five available loan slots.
Critics Call It a Bailout; Supporters Say It's Essential
The Sierra Club is "unequivocally opposed," arguing that "every dollar spent on nuclear is one less dollar spent on truly safe, affordable, and renewable energy sources." Environmental groups also note the administration has frozen permits for wind and solar projects while subsidizing nuclear, according to Earthjustice.
Industry backers disagree. Heather Reams of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions called the investment a "critical role in scaling nuclear resources to meet growing electricity demand," according to Utility Dive. Some financial analysts, however, warned the "conditional" label means utilities must still lock in massive private funding before the federal money actually moves.
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