Trump administration announces $17.5 billion in loans for 10 new large
nuclear reactors
[June 24, 2026]
By JENNIFER McDERMOTT and MATTHEW DALY
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is providing $17.5 billion to
speed the development of 10 new large nuclear reactors to meet the
skyrocketing power demand from massive data centers.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright cited “tremendous interest” among
developers of data centers that would buy the power, as well as
utilities and energy companies. The nuclear plants could begin
construction by 2030 and become operational in the mid-2030s, Wright and
other officials said Tuesday.
“This is the start,” Wright said on a call with reporters. “We’re going
to move with the players that are ready to stand up and move quickly.
Once that supply chain is up and running, do we think there will be
dozens of these built going forward? I’d be very surprised if there were
not.”
Most U.S. nuclear power plants were built between 1970 and 1990. Only
two new large reactors have been built from scratch in the United States
in recent decades. Those two reactors, at Georgia Power Co.’s Plant
Vogtle, were completed years late and billions of dollars over budget.
The 10 new reactors will use the same design, Westinghouse’s AP1000.
Wright said the Plant Vogtle project struggled because of bad planning,
supply chain problems and the COVID-19 pandemic. But, he said, the
reactor design is “robust and sound.”
“By building in volume and at multiple locations, we think we will
create and stand up a large supply chain and build a lot of construction
expertise,” Wright said. “We expect the timing and cost of these plants
to well outperform what was done on Vogtle.”
Seven utilities and energy companies signed letters of intent that
identified sites, the Energy Department said. The agency plans to pick
five, which would host two reactors at each site. The federal financing
would be used to purchase nuclear components with long lead times, and
are not construction loans.
The department declined to name the utilities involved or the states
they are in, calling it premature until the selections are made. It did
not give a timeline for making those selections.
President Donald Trump set a goal of quadrupling domestic production of
nuclear power within the next 25 years, and he has signed executive
orders to speed development. The administration is working to advance
new nuclear technologies, such as small modular nuclear reactors.
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The cooling towers for units 4, left, and 3, right, are seen at
Plant Vogtle, operated by Georgia Power Co., in east Georgia's Burke
County near Waynesboro, Ga., on May 29, 2024. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta
Journal-Constitution via AP, File)
Dan Sumner, president and chief executive officer of Westinghouse,
said industrialized nuclear power needs to be built at fleet scale,
in order for the United States to lead in artificial intelligence,
advanced manufacturing and the industries that will define the next
century.
Critics of building more nuclear reactors say they’re too expensive
and riskier than other low-carbon energy sources. Several states
restrict or ban new nuclear power plant construction.
Travis Fisher, director of energy and environmental policy studies
at the libertarian Cato Institute think tank, said the Energy
Department has the authority to issue these loan guarantees, but he
doesn't think the executive branch should be so heavily involved in
the electricity sector.
If the past is any indication, the next administration will use
similar authorities to favor a different set of energy resources, he
added. "Remove the state barriers and the federal favoritism and let
companies build the power plants that pass the market test,” Fisher
wrote in an e-mail Tuesday.
Data centers used 4% to 5% of the nation's total electricity in
2024, a share that could nearly triple by 2028, according to
government estimates. Some analysts predict nationwide electricity
use to rise as much as 20% in the next decade, with data centers a
big reason.
The Energy Department said the loans could speed up the development
of these 10 reactors by up to three years and lower construction
costs. Its goal is for all 10 to be under construction by 2030, to
start providing power in the mid-2030s.
The utilities and Westinghouse will be expected to contribute up to
$5 billion in equity in total across the five, two-reactors
projects. Wright said his department provides up to $17.5 billion in
loans, or $3.5 billion per project, in debt to pair with the equity.
He said it's “very, very low risk to the American taxpayers.”
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McDermott reported from Providence, R.I.
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