The Trump administration moved to accelerate a nuclear revival this week as the Department of Energy prepared financing for up to 10 new nuclear reactors, signaling the most aggressive federal support for nuclear power in decades. The nuclear revival effort was detailed by Energy Secretary Chris Wright during a tour of the Idaho National Laboratory on Monday.
Wright said the agency will use its revamped Office of Energy Dominance Financing to offer low-interest loans to “credit-worthy hyperscalers that are putting equity capital in front of us.” He emphasized that private investment will drive most of the development but noted, “the government smothered the nuclear industry for 40-plus years. We’ve got to get it back up on its feet again.” Wright added, “We’ll supply [loans] to maybe the first 10 reactors that get built. That’ll incentivize people to move fast.”
President Donald Trump identified nuclear power as essential for national security and energy stability, setting a goal in May to quadruple U.S. nuclear capacity within a decade. Last month, the Energy Department closed a $1 billion loan to partially restart the Three Mile Island plant, but Wright said the new financing will focus on next-generation reactors and small modular designs.
Modular reactors can be factory-built, transported, and assembled on-site, producing up to 300 megawatts—enough to power roughly 300,000 homes. Only two modular reactors operate worldwide. Rep. Mike Simpson said, “Maybe the only way to get these projects done is through the loan program… These are long-term investments.”
Wright stressed soaring energy needs driven by AI, manufacturing, and residential growth. “We don’t need a little more energy, we need a lot more energy,” he said. He pointed to the Oklo advanced reactor project underway at INL as evidence that nuclear expansion is already taking shape.
Wright also called for reforming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, arguing that it “became so bureaucratic, so slow, and so difficult that it just killed the economics of new nuclear reactor development.”
