The U.S. government has reached an $80 billion agreement with Westinghouse Electric Company to construct nuclear reactors nationwide, part of the Trump administration’s latest drive for energy dominance.
Westinghouse, owned by Brookfield Asset Management and the Cameco Corporation, said in a statement on Oct. 28 that its partnership with the government will reinvigorate the United States’ nuclear industrial base and underpin the powering of the country’s growth in artificial intelligence (AI).
Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that with Westinghouse, “we will unleash American energy.”
“This partnership embodies the bold vision of President [Donald] Trump—to rebuild our energy sovereignty, create high-paying jobs, and drive America to the forefront of the nuclear renaissance,” Lutnick said.
Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright said: “This historic partnership with America’s leading nuclear company will help unleash President Trump’s grand vision to fully energize America and win the global AI race. President Trump promised a renaissance of nuclear power, and now he is delivering.”
The deal was made in accordance with Trump’s May 23 executive orders to boost the U.S. nuclear energy industry.
American Nuclear Renaissance
The four executive orders were aimed a kindling an “American nuclear renaissance” by cutting regulations in the industry and fast-tracking new licenses for reactors and power plants.
The orders require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to complete license reviews within 18 months, provide federal land for reactor development, and streamline regulations and permitting processes.
The United States is the world’s largest generator and consumer of nuclear energy, with 94 nuclear reactors in 55 power plants, which the U.S. Energy Information Administration calculates generated 18.6 percent of its electricity in 2023.
According to Westinghouse, each two-unit AP1000 reactor project will create or sustain “45,000 manufacturing and engineering jobs in 43 states, and a national deployment will create more than 100,000 construction jobs.”
The company said Westinghouse AP1000 reactors have already been selected for nuclear energy programs in Bulgaria, Poland, and Ukraine.
Brookfield President Connor Teskey said the partnership with the U.S. government “will help unlock the potential that Westinghouse and nuclear energy can play to accelerate the growth of artificial intelligence in the United States, while meeting growing electricity demand and energy security needs at scale.”
Nuclear Reactors for US Bases
Earlier this month, the U.S. Army said that it was launching a program to deploy small nuclear power reactors at military bases in the United States.
The Army said on Oct. 14 that the Janus Program “will deliver resilient, secure, and assured energy” to support national defense installations and critical missions.
The program will enable the military to transition away from other forms of energy during operations, such as diesel fuel, which comes with its own logistical and supply issues.
The army said that reliable energy is critical for conducting global operations and will provide power to installations for its networks, weapons systems, and command nodes used for coordinating military operations.
Janus will operate separately from the civilian power grid and provide energy stability during adversarial attacks and natural disasters, the Army said.
The Janus Program fulfills Trump’s May 23 executive order calling for the installation of a small nuclear reactor at a domestic base by no later than Sept. 30, 2028.
A White House fact sheet said at the time that access to energy is critical for military installations, particularly those in locations that cannot be reliably served by forms of power other than nuclear.
The White House said that “uninterruptible, dispatchable, high-density power of the type that advanced nuclear reactors can provide because of their unique size and generation capabilities” is “critical for readiness and national security.”
John Haughey contributed to this report.
