Department of Energy Announces a New Multi-Billion-Dollar Nuclear Energy Deal

Washington's latest nuclear deal adds new power without building a single new reactor. Energy Secretary Chris Wright made the pitch on Monday: run the existing nuclear plants in America longer to deliver cheaper, steadier power around the clock.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a loan commitment of up to $4.2 billion for Vistra (NYSE:VST) to extend and upgrade three of its nuclear plants -- Beaver Valley in Pennsylvania, and Davis-Besse and Perry in Ohio.

The DOE says the project will preserve nearly 4 gigawatts (GW) of existing power and add 433 megawatts (MW) of new capacity. That could power more than 3 million homes across Pennsylvania, Ohio, and the PJM region. The PJM region is the stretch of the eastern U.S. where PJM Interconnection runs the power grid, covering all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia.

Here's the big number: The investment will extend the plants' lives for another 20 years beyond their current licenses.

Zoom out, and Monday's deal is just a piece of a much bigger plan that should benefit more stocks than one.

Trump's big nuclear bet

President Donald Trump's May 2025 executive order set an ambitious goal to jump-start America's nuclear energy industry and quadruple capacity to 400 GW by 2050.

Washington can add nuclear power mainly in three ways: new reactors, restarts, and uprates (increasing the capacity and output of existing plants). It is going after all three.

Here are some examples of the DOE's major recent nuclear deals.

New reactors

A conditional $17.5 billion loan to Westinghouse to deploy up to 10 new AP1000 reactors. Westinghouse is jointly owned by Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEPC)(NYSE:BEP) and Cameco (NYSE:CCJ).

Restarts

The DOE closed a $1 billion loan to Constellation Energy (NASDAQ:CEG) to bring back the 835-megawatt Crane Clean Energy Center, the old Three Mile Island Unit 1, which shut in 2019. Tech giant Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had already signed to buy the power even before the DOE loan.

Uprates

Vistra's latest $4.2 billion loan commitment for three of its plants. Here's something else you must know: In January 2026, tech behemoth Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) already signed 20-year power purchase agreements with Vistra to buy 2,609 MW from those same plants.

What this means for investors in nuclear energy

I see two emerging patterns.

First, the biggest federal loans or commitments are going to existing plants, because that solves the energy problem faster than building a new reactor.

Second, plants that already have a license, a grid connection, and a buyer are getting Washington's attention. While Constellation had already found a buyer for Crane output in Microsoft, Vistra found one in Meta.

All Washington is doing is adding money on top, so the companies that own these plants can restart or uprate more quickly and more affordably.

The nuclear renaissance is real, and I strongly believe that owners of existing reactors, such as Constellation and Vistra, stand to win the most.

While Constellation operates the largest nuclear fleet in the U.S., Vistra owns the second-largest fleet among competitive power producers that sell electricity on the open market. Both hold scarce assets that the artificial intelligence (AI) boom needs but can't quickly replace: reactors that deliver clear, uninterrupted nuclear power around the clock.

Neha Chamaria has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Cameco, Constellation Energy, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Vistra. The Motley Fool recommends Brookfield Renewable and Brookfield Renewable Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.