US Department of Energy commits to provide Constellation with $5 billion in loans — TechCrunch
In the United States, the Department of Energy has committed to provide Constellation Energy with $5 billion in loans to increase the capacity of eight nuclear power plants. The company plans to upgrade 11 existing reactors, with total additional generating capacity expected to amount to approximately 1.1 gigawatts, TechCrunch reports.
Reactor upgrades
Constellation plans to carry out so-called reactor power uprates — an industry term for expanding their generation capacity. This may involve using uranium with a higher enrichment level and upgrading equipment to operate at higher power levels.
The loan commitment still needs to be finalized. Constellation said the financing could reduce the cost of raising funds for projects on which the company has already committed to spend more than $7 billion. According to the company, these investments are expected to add 1,080 megawatts of nuclear capacity.
The program includes six power plants in Illinois — Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle, and Quad Cities — as well as Calvert Cliffs in Maryland and Limerick in Pennsylvania.
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Supply for data centers
Most or all of the additional generation at seven of the eight plants has already been purchased or contracted by Google, Amazon, or Meta. Google is a confirmed buyer of additional electricity from Limerick in Pennsylvania and four plants in Illinois. Amazon will buy electricity from Calvert Cliffs, while Meta is effectively purchasing all generation from the Clinton nuclear power plant.
The US Department of Energy said the loan would support affordable and reliable electricity supply for American households and businesses. At the same time, TechCrunch notes that there is no evidence that the new nuclear capacity will reduce rates for residential consumers. Constellation did not say whether the projects would maintain or lower electricity prices and did not confirm to TechCrunch the government’s claim that they would be affordable for consumers.
Google, Amazon, and Meta are seeking additional power capacity for data centers, including those related to artificial intelligence. Lower financing costs for the upgrades could improve the financial results of Constellation, the technology companies, or both sides.
