U.S. Energy Department offers $17.5 billion in conditional loans to strengthen nuclear reactor supply chains

The U.S. Department of Energy said it will provide $17.5 billion in conditional loans to help utilities and energy companies purchase long-lead equipment for five nuclear projects. The program is designed to support the goal of having 10 new large commercial reactors with completed designs under construction by 2030. Projects must be jointly owned with Westinghouse, with each partner committing $500 million in equity up front, for a total of $1 billion. The financing structure also requires lining up major power buyers such as AI data center hyperscalers, including Meta, which are seeking steady, large-scale baseload electricity.