Trump’s $80B Nuclear Power Shock: The Future of Energy and AI
Under the deal, the U.S. will help finance and fast-track licensing for new Westinghouse AP1000 reactors on U.S. soil reuters.com washingtonpost.com. Westinghouse — owned 51% by Brookfield and 49% by Cameco — will build the plants. In return for arranging loans and permits, the government gets a piece of the upside reuters.com. If Westinghouse ultimately IPOs at >$30B value, the U.S. could end up with a 20% stake reuters.com. This structure is intended to give taxpayers a return on investment once projects are profitable. The deal grew out of Trump’s “Nuclear America” push: an April executive order mandated 10 new large reactors by 2030 bloomberg.com reuters.com. Trump and Energy Sec. Wright have repeatedly linked nuclear power to national security and AI competitiveness. Wright said the administration would “fully energize America” and “now he is delivering” on the promised nuclear renaissance washingtonpost.com. Indeed, U.S. Energy Dept. guidance is now aiming to shrink reactor licensing times to 18 months to hit the 2030 build goal reuters.com.