The Trump administration just committed $17.5 billion in taxpayer-backed loans to build 10 new nuclear reactors — and the only company licensed to build that reactor design in the U.S. is a partner on every single project.
The Energy Department announced Tuesday that its Office of Energy Dominance Financing will issue conditional loans to five projects, each hosting two large-scale commercial reactors. The goal: have all 10 under construction by 2030. Energy Secretary Chris Wright called it the start of the "next American nuclear renaissance."
But follow the money. Every one of those five projects will use Westinghouse's AP1000 reactor — the only licensed large-scale commercial reactor design operating in the U.S. today. Westinghouse isn't just a supplier here. According to Fox Business, each project will be jointly owned by Westinghouse and the utility partner, with both required to commit $500 million in equity upfront before touching a dime of federal loan money. AP News reported the total equity across all five projects could reach $5 billion against the $17.5 billion in federal debt.
That's a tidy arrangement for Westinghouse. The company gets joint ownership in five nuclear projects with federal financing backstopping the risk. Dan Sumner, Westinghouse's president and CEO, said industrialized nuclear power needs to be built at "fleet scale" for the U.S. to lead in AI and advanced manufacturing.
Which raises the question: who's really driving this? Wright told reporters there is "tremendous interest" from data center hyperscalers — the tech giants running cloud and AI infrastructure. Data centers consumed 4% to 5% of total U.S. electricity in 2024, and government estimates say that share could nearly triple by 2028. The reactors won't come online until the mid-2030s, but the taxpayer commitment starts now.
The industry's track record is a flashing red light. The only two large reactors built from scratch in recent decades — Georgia Power's Plant Vogtle units — were completed seven years late and billions over budget. Wright blamed "bad planning, supply chain problems and the COVID-19 pandemic" and insisted the AP1000 design is "robust and sound." AP News noted the 10 new reactors will use that same design.
Fox Business framed the announcement as accelerating construction timelines and lowering costs. AP News gave more space to critics who say nuclear reactors are "too expensive and riskier than other low-carbon energy sources." Both outlets reported that the names of the seven utilities that signed letters of intent — and the states where these projects would be built — are being withheld. The Energy Department called it "premature" to disclose them.
So the public gets the bill, the risk, and no say — and can't even know which utilities are lining up until the deals are done. Wright said he's "confident" the projects will be economic for shareholders, ratepayers, and hyperscalers. Ratepayers always get mentioned right after shareholders for a reason.
The last time the federal government picked nuclear winners, taxpayers got Vogtle. This time it's five Vogtles at once, with Westinghouse at the center of every deal and Big Tech waiting at the other end for the power. The only thing guaranteed on schedule is the check clearing.
