US offers $17.5 billion loan to rebuild nuclear supply chain

The Energy Department moved on June 23 to underwrite the parts of reactor construction that usually bog projects down first, offering a conditional $17.5 billion loan commitment through its American Nuclear Supply Chain Loans initiative. The package is built around Westinghouse Electric Company’s AP1000 design and is meant to support five eligible projects for 10 large-scale commercial reactors across the United States. DOE projected the financing could accelerate deployment by up to three years.

The money is not a blanket construction grant. It is aimed at long-lead-time items and specialized components, the kind of purchases that can lock a schedule in place or push a project back by years when suppliers are tight. The structure is meant to restore domestic industrial capacity for those reactor parts and reduce procurement risk while utilities and energy companies line up fabrication, delivery and financing.

Westinghouse expects the program to provide the majority of financing for long-lead purchases for up to 10 AP1000 reactors in the U.S. Each project would involve two reactors, and Westinghouse has already signed letters of intent with seven potential partners with identified sites. Final site decisions have not been made, and the locations have not been disclosed. Before DOE money can flow, both Westinghouse and the utility or energy-company partner would need to commit $500 million in equity per reactor pair, or $1 billion per project.

The AP1000 sits at the center of the push because it is fully designed and licensed and already operating in the United States. Plant Vogtle in Georgia saw Units 3 and 4 become the first new U.S. reactors to start construction in decades and the first AP1000 units built in the country. DOE previously issued up to $12 billion in loan guarantees for Vogtle, and Southern Nuclear has completed the units, making the plant the nation’s largest generator of clean energy.

Westinghouse welcomed the commitment, and Cameco expects the financing to reenergize the large-scale reactor supply chain, drive down costs and accelerate AP1000 deployment in the U.S. and globally. Cameco shares rose after the announcement.