WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has announced $17.5 billion in federal loans to fast-track the construction of 10 new large nuclear reactors, as the country faces rapidly growing electricity demand driven largely by massive data centers.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright described “tremendous interest” from data center developers, utilities, and energy companies looking to participate in the initiative. Officials said Tuesday that construction on the new plants could begin as early as 2030, with the reactors coming online in the mid-2030s.
“This is the start,” Wright told 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.”
The majority of America’s existing nuclear power plants were constructed between 1970 and 1990. Only two brand-new large reactors have been built in the U.S. in recent decades — both at Georgia Power Co.’s Plant Vogtle — and those projects finished years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. All 10 of the newly planned reactors will use the same design: Westinghouse’s AP1000.
Wright acknowledged that the Plant Vogtle project ran into serious trouble due to poor planning, supply chain failures, and the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Even so, he maintained that the reactor design itself 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.”
According to the Energy Department, seven utilities and energy companies have signed letters of intent and identified potential sites. From those, five sites will be chosen, each hosting two reactors. The federal loan money would be used to purchase nuclear components that require long production lead times — not as direct construction loans.
The department has not yet disclosed which utilities are involved or which states the sites are located in, saying it would be premature to release that information before final selections are made. No timeline was given for when those decisions will be announced.
President Donald Trump has set an ambitious goal of quadrupling the nation’s domestic nuclear power output within the next 25 years and has signed executive orders intended to speed up development. The administration is also working to advance newer technologies such as small modular nuclear reactors.
Dan Sumner, president and chief executive officer of Westinghouse, argued that nuclear power needs to be built at a fleet scale for the United States to maintain leadership in artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and the industries that will shape the coming century.
Not everyone supports the push for more nuclear plants. Critics argue they are too costly and carry greater risks compared to other low-carbon energy alternatives.
The urgency behind the initiative is partly driven by explosive growth in electricity consumption. Data centers accounted for 4% to 5% of total U.S. electricity use in 2024, a share that government estimates suggest could nearly triple by 2028. Some analysts project overall nationwide electricity demand could climb as much as 20% over the next decade, with data centers being a primary driver.
The Energy Department said the loans could shave up to three years off the development timeline and reduce construction costs. The goal is to have all 10 reactors under construction by 2030 and delivering power by the mid-2030s.
The utilities and Westinghouse are expected to contribute a combined total of up to $5 billion in equity across the five two-reactor projects. Wright said the federal government would provide up to $17.5 billion in loans — roughly $3.5 billion per project — to complement that equity investment. He described the arrangement as “very, very low risk to the American taxpayers.”
