U.S. Government Invests $80B to Accelerate Nuclear Power Expansion
The U.S. Government has entered a strategic partnership with Westinghouse Electric Company, Cameco Corporation, and Brookfield Asset Management to accelerate the deployment of advanced nuclear power, following President Trump’s May 23 executive orders promoting American energy independence and infrastructure modernization.
Under the agreement, the partnership will oversee the construction of at least $80 billion in new Westinghouse nuclear reactors across the U.S. These projects will generate reliable, carbon-free power critical to supporting the nation’s growing AI-driven data center and compute capacity, while bolstering national security and energy resilience.
Each two-unit Westinghouse AP1000 reactor project is expected to create or sustain 45,000 manufacturing and engineering jobs across 43 states, with a full national deployment projected to generate more than 100,000 construction jobs, the companies said.
“Our administration is focused on ensuring the rapid development, deployment, and use of advanced nuclear technologies,” said Howard Lutnick, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce. “This historic partnership supports our national security objectives and enhances our critical infrastructure. Together with Westinghouse, we will unleash American energy.”
As part of the arrangement, the U.S. Government will receive a participation interest in the partnership, entitling it to 20% of any cash distributions exceeding $17.5 billion once vested. Vesting will occur upon the government’s final investment decision and execution of definitive construction agreements for the new Westinghouse reactors.
“For all the energy policy disagreements in Washington, one thing is clear: nuclear energy is the baseload electrical power source of the future,” Thomas Ryan, Energy Litigation Lawyer and Managing Partner of K&L Gates’ Pittsburgh office, told Connect Money.
“Its reliability, durability, and sustainability have rendered its deployment an apolitical issue. The only constraint right now is capacity—if the U.S. is to remain globally competitive, we must expand carbon-free supply through a modern nuclear fleet,” Ryan added.
The partnership builds on the 2022 acquisition of Westinghouse by Brookfield and Cameco, which combined Cameco’s expertise in nuclear fuel and operations with Brookfield’s global energy infrastructure investment capabilities. Brookfield originally acquired Westinghouse in 2018.
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