By Ava BennettThe United States Department of Energy has unveiled multibillion-dollar loan commitments under its Project Uprise initiative to expand domestic nuclear power generation and restart shuttered commercial reactors. Highlighted by Energy Secretary Chris Wright during late October 2026 facility visits in Illinois and Michigan, the financing aims to add gigawatts of baseload electricity and lower regional utility costs.
On October 28, 2026, the Department of Energy announced a conditional loan commitment of up to $5 billion through its Energy Dominance Financing Program to Constellation Energy. The financing supports reactor uprates and plant modernization across Illinois, Maryland, and Pennsylvania that will add nearly 1.1 gigawatts of nuclear generation capacity, enough to power more than 930,000 American homes.
Constellation’s planned upgrades span the Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle, and Quad Cities generating stations in Illinois, the Calvert Cliffs facility in Maryland, and the Limerick plant in Pennsylvania. Additional analysis of federal energy and infrastructure legislation is available in our Politics coverage.
Modernizing Existing Fleets and Lowering Ratepayer Costs
Alongside the Constellation package, the Energy Department backed Vistra with an October 2026 conditional loan commitment of up to $4.2 billion for nuclear uprates and modernization in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Those investments are projected to add 433 megawatts of new generation capacity while preserving nearly 4 gigawatts of existing baseload electricity serving more than 3 million households.
Energy Dominance Financing Director Gregory A. Beard stated that upgrading existing nuclear units represents the fastest and most cost-effective pathway to bring dependable baseload power onto the national grid. Earlier in February 2026, the department closed a $26.5 billion loan package for Southern Company supporting over 300 megawatts of Vogtle nuclear uprates and license extensions for the Hatch and Farley plants into the 2050s, projected to save ratepayers over $7 billion.
Before final loan disbursements occur, utilities must satisfy technical, environmental, legal, and financial conditions established by the Department of Energy. The Constellation agreement also includes an option to finance future uprates at additional generating stations as electricity demand from industrial reshoring and data centers accelerates.
Restarting Shuttered Reactors and Supply Chain Financing
A centerpiece of Project Uprise is federal support for the historic restart of three previously shuttered commercial nuclear power plants across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. In Michigan, a $1.5 billion federal loan to Holtec supports the restart of the 800-megawatt Palisades Nuclear Plant, marking the first time a U.S. nuclear reactor in decommissioning status will return to commercial service and retain up to 650 jobs.
In Pennsylvania, a $1 billion loan to Constellation backs the 835-megawatt Crane Restart Project, which is expected to supply electricity for approximately 800,000 homes and support more than 600 permanent and construction jobs. In Iowa, $1.9 billion in federal financing to NextEra supports restarting the 615-megawatt Duane Arnold Energy Center to power nearly 500,000 homes and create 1,500 construction positions.
To accelerate next-generation reactor construction, the Energy Department also launched the $17.5 billion American Nuclear Supply Chain Loans initiative. That conditional commitment will finance long-lead equipment procurement for five eligible nuclear projects, aiming to shorten deployment timelines for 10 new commercial reactors by up to three years.
