WASHINGTON — The American nuclear renaissance is here. On Monday, October 5, 2026, the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing announced a conditional loan commitment of up to $4.2 billion to finance nuclear uprates and modernization across Vistra’s nuclear fleet in Pennsylvania and Ohio. DOE says the investment advances President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base and “marks another major step in restoring American nuclear leadership.”
“President Trump promised to unleash an American nuclear renaissance, and the Energy Department is delivering,” said Energy Secretary Chris Wright. “By getting more power out of the nuclear plants we already have, we can deliver more affordable, reliable, around-the-clock energy for American families and businesses.”
The numbers are big. The projects at Beaver Valley in Pennsylvania and Davis-Besse and Perry in Ohio will preserve nearly 4 gigawatts of reliable baseload power, enough to power more than 3 million homes, and add 433 megawatts of new nuclear capacity for Pennsylvania, Ohio, and the 13-state PJM region. They will support about 3,000 project jobs in engineering, construction, and outage work, preserve thousands of permanent jobs, and keep the plants running for an additional 20 years beyond their existing licenses, all without new transmission corridors. The commitment also includes an option to finance future uprates at Vistra’s Comanche Peak plant in Texas.
“President Trump and Secretary Wright have set a clear direction for America’s nuclear future, and EDF is financing the projects that advance that mission,” said EDF Director Gregory A. Beard. “These investments will extend the life of existing reactors, increase nuclear generation, and deliver abundant, around-the-clock power to lower costs and power American prosperity for decades to come.” President Trump has set a goal of quadrupling domestic nuclear power production within 25 years.
It all traces back to May 23, 2025, when President Trump signed four executive orders to revive American nuclear power in the Oval Office. Secretary Doug Burgum said at the signing, “This is going to turn the clock back on over 50 years of overregulation of an industry.” Watch the Official White House video from that signing. More power, lower bills, and Golden Age energy dominance for American families.
