- The Department of Energy is offering $17.5 billion in low-interest conditional loans to five utilities for 10 new AP1000 nuclear reactors, aiming to cut construction timelines by up to three years.
- Seven utilities have signed letters of intent, with a target of getting reactors online by 2035 — a direct response to Trump’s executive order calling for 10 large reactors by 2030.
- The only prior US AP1000 builds — two Vogtle units — ballooned from $14B to over $30B and ran 7-8 years late; a separate SC project was abandoned in 2017.
- Westinghouse has fixed-price contracts in place and 160 long-lead components identified, with 150 made in the US — and China has already built four AP1000s with 11 more underway.
What Happened?
The Biden-era loan program has been revived under Trump as the DOE finalized $17.5 billion in conditional low-interest loans for five utilities planning to build 10 new AP1000 nuclear reactors. Seven total utilities have signed letters of intent. The loans — part of a separate arrangement from the prior $80B Westinghouse deal (which included 20% profit sharing above $17.5B) — are designed to derisk construction and cut timelines by up to three years, with a goal of getting units online by 2035. Each AP1000 produces roughly 1,100 MW of electricity.
Why It Matters?
Nuclear power provides about one-fifth of US electricity, but the country hasn’t successfully completed a new reactor in decades. The Vogtle project in Georgia — the only recent AP1000 build in the US — blew past its $14 billion budget to more than $30 billion and ran 7-8 years over schedule. Meanwhile, China has built four AP1000s and is constructing 11 more (modified as CAP1000s), building institutional knowledge the US lacks. The low-cost loan structure is an attempt to break the cost-overrun cycle by locking in fixed-price Westinghouse contracts and standardizing construction across multiple sites simultaneously.
What’s Next?
Utilities must now finalize applications and meet loan conditions. Westinghouse is working to secure 160 long-lead components — 150 of which are made domestically — to keep supply chains on track. Trump’s executive order calls for 10 large reactors by 2030, though the 2035 target reflects more realistic timelines. If the program succeeds, it could mark the first true nuclear construction wave in the US in over 40 years and restore a domestic capability that has largely migrated to China and South Korea.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
