Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Donald Trump administration on June 23 unveiled a $ 17.5 billion financing programme aimed at rebuilding the US nuclear supply chain and accelerating construction of 10 new large-scale nuclear reactors, marking one of the most ambitious efforts in decades to revive America’s commercial nuclear industry.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced a conditional loan commitment to support the procurement of long-lead components needed for 10 new reactors based on Westinghouse’s AP1000 design.
“Just over one year ago, President Trump directed the Energy Department and its agency partners to unleash the next American nuclear renaissance,” US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said. The DOE said the financing would support up to five projects, with each project involving two reactors. Together, the 10 reactors would generate more than 11 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power nearly 10 million American homes.
The loans will finance the purchase of critical long-lead items such as reactor pressure vessels, steam generators and structural modules that often take years to manufacture. Greg Beard, who heads the Energy Dominance Financing office, said the programme was designed to reduce costs through standardisation and repeat construction.
The programme requires substantial private-sector participation. Westinghouse and each utility or energycompany partner will have to commit about $ 500 million each in equity before DOE financing becomes available, creating roughly $ 1 billion in private investment per project. Long-term power purchase agreements from technology companies could help support project economics without increasing consumer electricity rates.
Nuclear energy currently provides about one-fifth of US electricity and remains the country’s largest source of carbon-free power generation.
