US DOE backs $5 billion in loans for Constellation nuclear upgrades

The US Department of Energy has committed $5 billion in loans to Constellation Energy for projects to expand generating capacity at eight nuclear power plants by 1.1 gigawatts. The loan commitment has yet to be finalized.

Constellation plans to use the financing to increase the output of 11 existing reactors, a process known in the industry as an “uprate.” The company said it had already committed more than $7 billion to add 1,080 megawatts of nuclear capacity for Google, Amazon and Meta.

Most or all of the additional power from seven plants has already been bought by those companies. Google is the confirmed buyer of additional power from the Pennsylvania plant and four Illinois plants. Amazon is buying electricity from the Maryland plant, while Meta is effectively buying the entire Clinton plant in Illinois.

Constellation said the loans could lower financing costs. The Department of Energy said the loan would support affordable, reliable power for homes and businesses, but the source reports no evidence that the new capacity will lower residential electricity prices. Constellation did not say whether the projects would maintain or reduce rates and did not confirm the government’s claim to TechCrunch.

The eight plants are Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle and Quad Cities in Illinois; Calvert Cliffs in Maryland; and Limerick in Pennsylvania. Technology companies are seeking additional grid capacity for AI data centers, and the loans could lower the cost of financing the upgrades.