US Energy Secretary Chris Wright will travel to Vistra’s nuclear plant along Lake Erie in Ohio on Monday to announce a loan of about $4.2 billion for the company to increase its nuclear power generation.
The money would fund output increases at at least three of Vistra’s four nuclear stations. The work can proceed without new licences from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Vistra operates six reactors at four US plants, generating more than 6.5 gigawatts of electricity. That output is enough to power about 3.25 million homes.
The financing comes as US power demand grows for the first time in decades. Demand is rising with the expansion of artificial intelligence data centres, the electrification of transportation and cryptocurrency mining.
President Donald Trump has set a target to quadruple US nuclear power capacity by 2050.
The Department of Energy has hundreds of billions of dollars in financing available through its loan office. Wright has said the bulk of that lending capacity will support nuclear power plants.
Increasing production from existing reactors offers the administration a route to add nuclear generation without seeking fresh licences for the work. As of 2022, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had approved more than 170 uprates.
Comments (0)