Trump DOE loans $5B to nuclear plants that will power data centers

The Trump administration is giving Constellation Energy $5 billion in loans to expand nuclear generating capacity at eight power plants by 1.1 gigawatts.

Most or all of the additional power from seven of those facilities has already been bought by Google, Meta, or Amazon.

Constellation said it plans to use the financing to “uprate” 11 existing reactors, an industry term for expanding capacity at a reactor, often by using more highly enriched uranium and by upgrading equipment to handle the increased power levels.

The energy company said it had already committed to spending more than $7 billion to add 1,080 megawatts of nuclear capacity to deliver power to Google, Amazon, and Meta. The loan commitment, which has yet to be finalized, “could lower financing costs” for the projects, Constellation said in a press release.

The eight power plants include six in Illinois (Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, La Salle, and Quad Cities), one in Maryland (Calvert Cliffs), and one in Pennsylvania (Limerick). 

Google is already the confirmed buyer of additional power from the Pennsylvania plant and four Illinois power plants, while Amazon is buying electricity from the Maryland plant and Meta is effectively buying the entire Clinton power plant in Illinois.

On Tuesday, the Department of Energy touted the loan as supporting “affordable, reliable power to American homes and businesses,” though there is no evidence that the new nuclear capacity will lower prices for residential ratepayers. Constellation’s announcement does not say whether the projects will maintain or lower electricity rates, and the company would not confirm the government’s claim to TechCrunch.

Hyperscalers, including Google, Amazon, and Meta, have been scouring the grid for additional capacity to support their AI data centers. Tech companies are paying handsomely for energy, committing tens of billions of dollars over the coming years. Given that power has become a competitive advantage, that estimate is probably on the low end.

By lowering the cost of capital for the upgrades, the Department of Energy’s loans could boost Constellation’s bottom line, that of the hyperscalers — or both.

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