The Trump administration has announced a conditional DOE nuclear loan of up to $5 billion for Constellation Energy. The financing would support upgrades at eight nuclear power plants, adding nearly 1.1 gigawatts of generating capacity.
The Department of Energy announced the commitment Tuesday. Much of the additional capacity is already tied to agreements with Google, Amazon, and Meta, which need electricity to expand data center operations.
Constellation plans to increase output from existing reactors through equipment upgrades, known as uprates. The company has already committed more than $7 billion to projects that add about 1,080 megawatts for Google and Amazon.
DOE Nuclear Loan Supports Eight Power Plants
The proposed financing covers six Illinois facilities: Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle and Quad Cities. It also includes Calvert Cliffs in Maryland and Limerick in Pennsylvania.
Google has agreed to support 890 megawatts of nuclear expansion across several reactors, including facilities in Illinois and Pennsylvania.
Amazon has signed a 20-year power agreement supporting another 190 megawatts at Calvert Cliffs. Meta’s separate agreement supports a 30-megawatt expansion at Clinton.
The commitments reflect growing electricity demand from AI infrastructure. Amazon is also backing a separate nuclear development in Indiana involving 12 proposed small modular reactors.
Federal Financing Could Reduce Project Costs
Constellation said the conditional loan commitment could lower financing costs and help accelerate reactor upgrades. However, the agreement remains subject to regulatory, financial and legal requirements.
The Energy Department says the expansion will improve grid reliability and help lower electricity costs. It estimates the additional generation could power more than 930,000 homes.
However, neither announcement establishes how much residential electricity bills would fall, if at all. The financial benefits could instead depend on financing terms, electricity contracts and how the additional generating capacity affects regional markets.
