The Energy Department plans to help finance billions of dollars worth of nuclear reactor components in order shore up the U.S. supply chain, officials said Tuesday.
DOE’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing, formerly known as the Loan Programs Office, plans to provide $17.5 billion in low-interest loans to five projects so they can procure components like pressure vessels, steam generators, and main coolant pumps. All five intend to build Westinghouse AP1000s — the nation’s flagship nuclear reactor. EDF Director Gregory Beard told reporters that the office hasn’t selected the projects yet, but at least seven utilities and energy companies have formally expressed interest in the program.
The financing supports executive orders that President Donald Trump signed last year aimed at jumpstarting a nuclear power renaissance in the U.S., including by getting 10 new large nuclear reactors under construction by 2030.
Meanwhile, in October, the Commerce Department announced an $80-billion deal with Westinghouse to build those reactors, but how and when that funding will be doled out is still unclear. That deal is separate from the low-interest loans for nuclear components announced today by EDF.
A major hurdle to building AP1000s is the long lead times for specialized components that take years to manufacture, due to fragmented supply chains and a lack of skilled labor. Beard said EDF’s loans for components ”will accelerate commercial operation dates for these larger reactors by up to three years, drive procurement savings, and expand manufacturing capacity in the United States.” However, the AP1000s likely won’t be operational until the mid 2030s, he added.
The low-interest loans will be made to five “special purpose vehicles” formed between Westinghouse and a utility or energy company, Beard said. These SPVs must contribute $1 billion total in private capital to qualify for the loan.
The Trump administration’s push to revive the U.S. nuclear industry comes as tech companies are desperate for power for artificial intelligence data centers. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that he expects hyperscalers to sign long-term power purchase agreements with these developers, which will help underwrite construction of the projects. Companies including Meta, Microsoft, and Google have all already signed deals for nuclear power with utilities that own or plan to restart legacy plants, as well as companies developing more advanced, small nuclear reactors.
The most recent AP1000s built in the U.S. are at Georgia’s Vogtle Power Plant, which added two reactors that came online in 2023 and 2024. The project was plagued by construction delays and cost overruns, coming in about seven years behind schedule and $17 billion over budget.
Wright said DOE is aware of those risks, which is why the department has “taken a long time” to craft these financing opportunities. He outlined several factors that distinguish the Trump administration’s efforts from the Vogtle project, including that Westinghouse will not be the leading builder of the AP1000s; the company will be a key technology supplier, but there will be a competitive process for EPC companies to build the projects.
Wright added that the design of AP1000s are now finalized — unlike when the Vogtle expansion was underway — and the administration is also taking steps to boost the supply chain well ahead of construction as projects make their way through permitting, federal regulatory reviews, and final investment decisions.
“It’s another reason we’re working on building 10 plants,” Wright said, referencing the overall White House goal. “Think of the supply chain for that. And then the same team can build in volume and at multiple locations. We think this will build a lot of construction expertise. We expect the timing and cost of these plants to well outperform what was done on Vogtle.”
The five projects that EDF selects for low-interest loans for nuclear components could also qualify for additional construction funding, Beard said. EDF has more than $50 billion earmarked for nuclear reactor construction loans.
EDF earlier this year already closed loan guarantees totaling $26.5 billion for Southern Company to help offset the costs of building new power generation, including nuclear and gas plants and battery storage.
To further support the U.S. nuclear buildout, the Trump administration is also trying to build up a domestic supply of nuclear fuel — another major bottleneck in bringing new plants online. DOE last year awarded $2.7 billion to three uranium enrichment companies, and in May said it was in advanced negotiations with five nuclear power companies that plan to convert surplus plutonium stockpiles into fuel for startups building SMRs.
