Westinghouse Electric Co. has joined with ownership groups Cameco Corp. and Brookfield Asset Management in a partnership that would advance deployment of nuclear power technology across the U.S.
The companies on October 28 said at least $80 billion of new reactors, primarily AP1000 units from Westinghouse, would be built at the behest of the U.S. government. Officials on Tuesday in a news release wrote that under the “historic agreement” the new reactors “will reinvigorate the nuclear power industrial base,” and would make nuclear energy “a central pillar of America’s program to maintain global leadership in nuclear power development and Artificial Intelligence (AI).”
Officials said the U.S. government will arrange financing and help secure permits for the Westinghouse reactors. The strategy offers the U.S. government a 20% share of future profits from the assets, after Westinghouse has paid out at least $17.5 billion to New York City-headquartered Brookfield and Canada-based Cameco. The companies said the U.S. government could turn those gains into an equity stake of up to 20%, and the deal also would require an initial public offering of Westinghouse stock by 2029 if the company’s value surpasses $30 billion.
The plan was announced Tuesday after President Trump, who is on a trip to Asia, said in Tokyo that Japan will provide up to $332 billion to support U.S. infrastructure projects. The investment would include construction of Westinghouse AP1000 reactors, and also small modular nuclear reactors, or SMRs.
“Our administration is focused on ensuring the rapid development, deployment, and use of advanced nuclear technologies. This historic partnership supports our national security objectives and enhances our critical infrastructure,” said Howard Lutnick, secretary for the U.S. Dept. of Commerce.”Together with Westinghouse we will unleash American energy.”
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said, “This historic partnership with America’s leading nuclear company will help unleash President Trump’s grand vision to fully energize America and win the global AI race. President Trump promised a renaissance of nuclear power, and now he is delivering.”
Years of Support
The federal government has earmarked billions of dollars for development of nuclear power since the Obama administration. That administration approved $8.33 billion in federal loan guarantees to help finance the construction of two new nuclear reactors at Georgia’s Plant Vogtle nuclear power station, a project completed in 2024. The two-unit expansion at the Vogtle site won POWER’s Plant of the Year Award last year.
The Obama administration also invested in the development and licensing of advanced SMR technologies. The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) in 2015 provided billions in loan guarantees to support the next generation of nuclear technologies, and also that year announced the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear, or GAIN, program to help develop advanced reactor designs.
There has been bipartisan congressional support for nuclear power for several years. A Pew Research Center survey published earlier this month said about 60% of U.S. adults surveyed favor the use of more nuclear power to generate electricity, up from 43% in 2020.
The second Trump administration has issued four executive orders supporting a substantial increase in nuclear power generation capacity. President Trump in July of this year signed legislation preserving many tax incentives for nuclear power.
“With this announcement, Westinghouse has committed to provide thousands of megawatts of clean, reliable baseload power to the U.S. grid,” said Tison Campbell, Washington, D.C., partner in K&L Gates’ Energy, Infrastructure, and Resources practice, in an email to POWER. Campbell is a former senior executive at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “These safe, secure, and proven AP1000 reactors will power American innovation and industry into the next century,” said Campbell.
Future Nuclear Growth
Officials on Tuesday said the partnership will support future growth in U.S. nuclear power, along with the equipment supply chain. The companies in announcing the agreement said, “Each two-unit Westinghouse AP1000 project creates or sustains 45,000 manufacturing and engineering jobs in 43 states, and a national deployment will create more than 100,000 construction jobs. The program will cement the United States as one of the world’s nuclear energy powerhouses and increase exports of Westinghouse’s nuclear power generation technology globally.”
Connor Teskey, president of Brookfield Asset Management, said, “This partnership with the U.S. government will help unlock the potential that Westinghouse and nuclear energy can play to accelerate the growth of artificial intelligence in the United States, while meeting growing electricity demand and energy security needs at scale. Brookfield has more than half a trillion dollars invested in the critical infrastructure that underpins the U.S. economy, and we expect to double that investment in the next decade as we deliver on building the infrastructure backbone of artificial intelligence.”
Brookfield is in negotiations with Santee Cooper to restart construction of two AP1000 reactors at the VC Summer site in South Carolina, eight years after that nuclear power project was abandoned in the wake of Westinghouse filing for bankruptcy.
“Our goals include completing these reactors with private money and no ratepayer or taxpayer expense, delivering financial relief to our customers and gaining significant additional power capacity for South Carolina,” Peter McCoy, Santee Cooper board chairman, said this week. “Brookfield’s proposal would do just that, and the company has the financial capability to stand behind its proposal.”
Westinghouse and U.S. Nuclear Power
Westinghouse is considered a global leader in nuclear energy, and its technology serves as the basis for more than half the world’s operating nuclear power fleet. The company began building nuclear power plants in the U.S. in the 1950s.
Two Japanese firms—Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, along with Toshiba IHI (a joint venture of Toshiba and IHI)—may be involved in building up to $100 billion of Westinghouse reactors. That’s according to a fact sheet issued after Trump’s meeting with Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s new and first female prime minister, on Tuesday.
Lutnick at a business dinner Tuesday in Tokyo announced up to $490 billion in commitments by Japan to the U.S., including the $100 billion for nuclear power projects involving Westinghouse and GE Vernova.
Westinghouse noted that the company currently has 14 AP1000 reactors under construction worldwide, with five more under contract. The group said its AP1000 technology also has been selected for nuclear energy programs in Poland, Ukraine, and Bulgaria.
Brookfield, which invests in power generation technologies, and Cameco formed a partnership to acquire Westinghouse in October 2022. Cameco is recognized for its expertise in the nuclear industry, including the nuclear fuel supply chain. Brookfield initially acquired Westinghouse in 2018 after the latter’s bankruptcy, and had led a successful turnaround that has benefited from renewed investment in nuclear power.
“Our highly successful partnership with Brookfield as owners of Westinghouse will be further strengthened through this collaboration with the U.S. government,” said Tim Gitzel, CEO of Cameco. “We expect this new partnership to support the global growth opportunities for both Westinghouse’s and Cameco’s nuclear products, services and technologies, adding significant long-term value for our stakeholders and enhancing energy, national, and climate security around the world. As a strategic partner, Cameco is a secure and reliable Western-based supplier of the uranium fuel needed to support the civilian deployment and long-term reliable operation of Westinghouse’s technology in the U.S. and globally.”
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
