U.S. Energy secretary visits Ohio to announce $4.2B in nuclear power investments
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — The US secretary of energy visited Ohio today in order to announce up to $4.2 billion in federal loans that will help upgrade nuclear power plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania, a move the department says will lower electric bills and prevent power outages.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright traveled to northern Ohio to announce the plan at the Perry Nuclear Power Plant east of Cleveland.
“President Trump promised to unleash an American nuclear renaissance, and the Energy Department is delivering,” Wright said in a statement. “By getting more power out of the nuclear plants we already have, we can deliver more affordable, reliable, around the-clock energy for American families and businesses.”
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the money will be going to an energy company called Vistra to boost electricity production and extend the operating life of its nuclear reactors. For Ohio, that means the funds will go directly to both the Perry plant and the Davis-Besse facility near Toledo.
The Energy Department said via press release that the planned upgrades will help provide enough continuous power for more than 3 million homes while adding enough new nuclear generation to power hundreds of thousands more.
They also estimate the work will create about 3,000 temporary jobs for engineers and construction crews, and permanent plant workers.
The plan is to keep these plants running for another 20 years past their current federal license limits.
This federal loan offer comes from the department’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing under an executive order meant to boost domestic energy output in the United States. However, the deal is conditional, meaning Vistra must first clear legal, technical, and environmental reviews before a single federal dollar is given.
