FACT SHEET: The Energy Department is Delivering on President Trump's Commitment to Expand American Nuclear Power

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS ACCELERATING AMERICA’S NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE

• This week, Secretary Wright is visiting nuclear power plants in Illinois and Michigan to highlight the Trump Administration’s progress in expanding American nuclear power.
  • On Tuesday, October 27, 2026, Secretary Wright is visiting Constellation Energy’s Byron Generating Station in Byron, Illinois, to announce the Energy Department’s conditional loan commitment of up to $5 billion to finance nuclear uprates and modernization across the midwest and northeast. 
  • On Thursday, October 29, Secretary Wright will also visit Michigan’s Palisades Nuclear Plant, where the Energy Department is supporting the historic restart of a previously shuttered nuclear facility – the first ever such restart in the United States.
• The Energy Department's Utility Power Reactor Incremental Scaling Effort (UPRISE) is advancing President Trump's nuclear expansion agenda by supporting nuclear uprates at existing reactors, restarting closed plants, and building new reliable nuclear capacity. 
  • With the addition of Constellation’s projects, UPRISE has identified approximately 4.7 gigawatts of additional nuclear capacity —95% of its 5GW goal by 2029. The Energy Department is supporting the majority of these investments through loan funding from the Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF). 
• Under President Trump’s leadership, the Energy Department is delivering on President Trump’s Executive Order, Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base to expand American nuclear power and strengthen national energy security.
  • The executive order directs the Energy Department to work with industry to facilitate 5 GW of power uprates at existing nuclear reactors and begin construction of 10 new large reactors with complete designs by 2030.
  • The order also directs the Energy Department to prioritize financing activities that support nuclear plant restarts, reactor uprates, completion of stalled projects, advanced reactor construction, and the domestic nuclear fuel supply chain. 

UNLEASHING NUCLEAR POWER THROUGH UPRATES, RESTARTS, AND NEW CONSTRUCTION 

• Through EDF, the Energy Department is directly investing in advancing nuclear uprates, plant restarts, and new construction to expand America’s reliable electricity supply.
• The Energy Department is supporting commonsense investments in additional capacity at existing nuclear generating units –the fastest way to get new, reliable power online.
  • Constellation Energy (Adding nearly 1.1 GW): Nuclear uprates and modernization across Illinois, Maryland, and Pennsylvania will add enough reliable electricity to power more than 930,000 homes, backed by an October 2026 conditional loan commitment of up to $5 billion.
  • Vistra (Adding 433 MW; Preserving nearly 4 GW): Uprates and modernization in Pennsylvania and Ohio will add new generation capacity while preserving enough reliable power for more than 3 million homes. This was supported by an October 2026 conditional loan commitment of up to $4.2 billion.
  • Vogtle Nuclear Uprates (Adding over 300 MW): Reactor uprates across 6 GW of existing nuclear capacity and license extensions for Hatch and Farley into the 2050s are expected to deliver more than $7 billion in electricity cost savings. In February 2026, the Energy Department closed a $26.5 billion loan package supporting these projects.
• The Energy Department is supporting the historic restart of three previously shuttered commercial nuclear plants.
  • Palisades Nuclear Plant, Michigan (800 MW): The historic restart would return reliable nuclear power to Michigan’s grid and mark the first restart of a U.S. nuclear reactor that entered decommissioning status, supporting or retaining up to 650 high-quality jobs in Michigan, supported by a $1.5 billion loan to Holtec.
  • Crane Restart Project, Pennsylvania (835 MW): The restart would return enough reliable electricity to power approximately 800,000 homes and support more than 600 American jobs, backed by a $1 billion loan to Constellation.
  • Duane Arnold Energy Center, Iowa (615 MW): The restart would return enough reliable electricity to power nearly 500,000 homes, create approximately 1,500 construction and refurbishment jobs, and support more than 450 permanent operations jobs, backed by $1.9 billion in financing to NextEra.
• The Energy Department is accelerating new nuclear construction to expand America’s reliable electricity supply.
  • The $17.5 billion American Nuclear Supply Chain Loans initiative is a conditional commitment that will help finance the equipment procurement for five eligible projects, with the goal of accelerating deployment of 10 new reactors by up to three years.