Energy
Feds Reach Deal With Westinghouse for $80B in Nuclear Reactor Deployments
Units 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle in Georgia are the first two AP1000 reactors operating in the U.S. Their maker, Westinghouse, says it will build more of the reactors under a deal with the U.S. Dept. of Commerce.
At least $80 billion worth of nuclear reactors using Westinghouse Electric Co.’s technology will be built in the U.S. under a tentative deal between the company’s owners and the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, the parties announced Oct. 28.
The agreement comes as data centers for artificial intelligence are helping drive electricity demand, and as the Trump administration is promoting development of nuclear power projects and related technologies, as President Donald Trump directed by executive order in May.
Under the deal, the government would arrange financing and facilitate permitting approvals for Westinghouse nuclear reactors to be built in the U.S.
“Our administration is focused on ensuring the rapid development, deployment and use of advanced nuclear technologies,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a statement.
Westinghouse’s Canadian owners—uranium supplier Cameco Corp. and Brookfield Asset Management, which partnered to acquire Pennsylvania-based Westinghouse in 2023—indicated that the 1,200-MW AP1000 reactors will be used under the deal.
Two AP1000s are currently in use in the U.S. at Plant Vogtle in Georgia, and South Carolina utility Santee Cooper announced this month that it intends to work with Brookfield to evaluate the possibility of resuming construction of two of those units at the unfinished V.C. Summer nuclear plant expansion, which was abandoned in 2017.
Four other AP1000s are operating in China, and more have been contracted in Asia and Europe to come online in the 2030s.
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U.S. deployment of the reactors is estimated to involve more than 100,000 construction jobs, the companies claim. Earlier this year, Westinghouse leaders said the company planned to build 10 reactors in the U.S. starting by 2030.
“[W]e believe the US Government’s participation in the partnership creates the right incentives to deploy its full suite of tools behind the construction of Westinghouse reactors, including financial, regulatory, policy and diplomatic support,” Cameco CEO Tim Gitzel said in a statement.
Under the agreement, the government would receive a participation interest entitling it to 20% of cash distributions over $17.5 billion made by Westinghouse. If the government’s interest has vested by January 2029, and Westinghouse’s valuation in an initial public offering is estimated at $30 billion or more, officials can require an IPO.
In that case, the government would be able to purchase equity securities equal to 20% of the public value of the IPO entity, after deducting $17.5 billion from that value.
Once the deal is closed, Westinghouse plans to begin ordering equipment with long lead times.
