The U.S. Department of Energy is directing substantial federal funding toward nuclear power companies and projects. DOE reached financial close on a $1 billion loan to Constellation to help finance the restart of the Crane Clean Energy Center, a nuclear plant on the Susquehanna River in Londonderry Township, Pennsylvania.
The department is also advancing a Reactor Pilot Program working initially with 11 advanced reactor projects, with a goal of constructing, operating and achieving criticality on at least three test reactors through the DOE authorization process. Selected developers include Aalo Atomics, Antares Nuclear, Atomic Alchemy, Deep Fission, Last Energy, Oklo, Natura Resources, Radiant Industries, Terrestrial Energy and Valar Atomics.
Federal appropriations are rising to match. Congress earmarked $1.785 billion for the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, and an additional $3.1 billion was reprogrammed to the office for cost-shared projects under the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.
The funding reflects a federal push to accelerate domestic nuclear deployment, support plant restarts and move next-generation reactor designs from license review toward construction and operation.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy - https://www.energy.gov/articles/department-energy-announces-initial-selections-new-reactor-pilot-program