Trump DOE loans $5B to nuclear plants for AI data centers
The Trump administration approved a $5 billion loan to Constellation Energy to expand nuclear capacity across eight power plants to supply power to Google, Amazon, and Meta.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- The Trump administration approved a $5 billion loan for Constellation Energy.
- The funding expands nuclear generating capacity across eight plants by 1.1 gigawatts.
- Major tech firms including Google, Amazon, and Meta have secured the additional power.
- The financing helps lower capital costs for massive AI infrastructure upgrades.
The U.S. government under the Trump administration has announced a $5 billion loan commitment to Constellation Energy aimed at expanding nuclear generating capacity at eight power plants, increasing total output by 1.1 gigawatts.
The expansion relies on uprating 11 existing nuclear reactors by utilizing more highly enriched uranium and upgrading equipment to handle higher energy thresholds. Constellation previously committed over $7 billion in private capital to add 1,080 megawatts of nuclear capacity to fulfill clean energy agreements with major technology enterprises.
The eight participating facilities span multiple states, including six in Illinois (Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle, and Quad Cities), one in Maryland (Calvert Cliffs), and one in Pennsylvania (Limerick).
Hyperscale cloud providers have been aggressively securing grid capacity to fuel their power-hungry AI data centers. Google has confirmed agreements for power from the Pennsylvania facility and four Illinois sites, Amazon is purchasing electricity from the Maryland plant, and Meta has effectively claimed the entire output of the Clinton facility in Illinois.
Although the Department of Energy touted the loan as a measure to support affordable and reliable power for American homes and businesses, there is currently no concrete evidence indicating that the new capacity will lower utility bills for residential consumers, as Constellation has declined to confirm the government's claims.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
This report was written by Tim De Chant, senior climate reporter at TechCrunch, and published on October 28, 2026.
Source: TechCrunch
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