Constellation secures conditional $5 billion DOE loan for nuclear uprates
Eight plants in Illinois, Maryland and Pennsylvania are named as possible sites, subject to due diligence and definitive financing documents.
Key facts
- Commitment comes from DOE's Office of Energy Dominance Financing, announced October 27
- Uprate candidates: Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle, Quad Cities, Calvert Cliffs, Limerick
- Google and Amazon agreements prompted more than $7 billion of investment for about 1,080 MW
- Meta agreement supports a 30 MW expansion at Clinton Clean Energy Center in Illinois
- Commitment is conditional and does not by itself commit Constellation to any individual uprate
The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Dominance Financing has issued Constellation a conditional loan commitment of up to $5 billion to support nuclear uprates, the company said on October 27. Uprates increase output from existing reactors.
The commitment would back potential uprates at eight Constellation facilities: Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle and Quad Cities in Illinois, Calvert Cliffs in Maryland and Limerick in Pennsylvania. It is subject to due diligence, negotiation of definitive financing documents and other conditions. It does not represent a decision by Constellation to proceed with any individual uprate or at every facility under consideration.
Constellation said the financing could lower costs and help it add capacity at greater scale. The company's 20-year agreements with Google and Amazon incentivized more than $7 billion of investment to add approximately 1,080 megawatts of nuclear capacity, and an agreement with Meta supports a 30-megawatt expansion at Clinton.
The commitment falls under DOE's UPRISE program, which aims to maximize output from the existing U.S. nuclear fleet.