Update: DOE Offers Constellation Up to $5 Billion, Conditionally, for Nuclear Uprates Backed by Google and Amazon Deals; Google's Own Deal Is 890 MW of New Nuclear
Updated Oct. 29: The Energy Department made a conditional commitment of up to $5 billion to Constellation to uprate eight nuclear plants by about 1.1 GW, work Constellation says was enabled by 20-year agreements with Google and Amazon. The loan has not closed. Originally reported Oct. 7: Google signed a 20-year PPA for 890 MW of new nuclear uprate capacity and a separate 15-year, 2.7 GW PJM supply agreement not tied to a specific source; only the 890 MW is new nuclear capacity. No price was disclosed.
Updated October 29, 2026: Added the Energy Department's conditional loan commitment of up to $5 billion for Constellation's uprate programme, which includes plants in the Google deal. The October 7 report follows unchanged.
October 29: Washington offers to lend for the uprates#
The uprates Google is paying for may now be financed partly with federal credit. The Energy Department said on October 27 that its Office of Energy Dominance Financing had made a conditional commitment of up to $5 billion to Constellation to uprate and modernise nuclear plants, adding nearly 1.1 GW of capacity in the PJM and MISO grids. The department put the added output at enough for about 930,000 homes and said the projects would support about 10,000 jobs.
Constellation said the loan would help finance more than $7 billion of investment to add about 1,080 MW, work it said was enabled by recent 20-year agreements with Google and Amazon; a separate Meta agreement supports 30 MW at its Clinton plant. Constellation listed eight plants: Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle and Quad Cities in Illinois, Calvert Cliffs in Maryland and Limerick in Pennsylvania. TechCrunch reported that Google is the buyer for output from the Pennsylvania plant and four in Illinois.
The commitment is conditional. Both the department and Constellation say the loan still depends on due diligence and definitive financing documents, and Constellation called it not a final decision. The department said the uprates would help lower power costs; TechCrunch reported that Constellation would not confirm that claim and that it had found no evidence for it.
Limits of the October 29 update#
- No interest rate, term or closing date has been published, and the loan has not closed.
- The October 7 report described 11 units in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey; the plants named for the loan include Calvert Cliffs in Maryland and no New Jersey plant. The companies have not said which of Google's uprates the loan would fund.
- The Google-specific plant mapping is TechCrunch's reporting, not a statement from Google or Constellation.
The October 7 report#
Grid access has become a gating factor for AI capex. In PJM — the largest US grid — Google is answering a "bring your own power" push with a deal that is only partly new nuclear.
On October 6, Google and Constellation Energy announced a 20-year power purchase agreement for 890 MW of new capacity from equipment and efficiency upgrades (uprates) at 11 Constellation nuclear units across six sites in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The first uprate is expected by 2028. The companies say the deal means more than $4.3 billion of new Constellation investment and about 7,200 construction jobs.
Google also signed a 15-year energy supply agreement for a further 2,700 MW in PJM. CNBC says that tranche is not tied to a specific generation source. In total Google has contracted 3,590 MW (~3.6 GW). Only the 890 MW is new nuclear uprate capacity; the rest is not new nuclear generation.
PJM context#
The release presents the deal as a direct response to PJM's "Bring Your Own Power" proposal and aligns it with the White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge. It includes load-shaping and demand-response commitments to curtail non-critical consumption during grid stress. CNBC reports that PJM management has proposed requiring data-centre customers to bring their own power or face remote shut-off at peak demand.
Uprates of existing reactors are the fastest firm, carbon-free megawatts available. Google is paying for new capacity and taking on demand flexibility in exchange for growth headroom — a template other hyperscalers will face in PJM.
Not a pure power purchase#
Separately, Constellation picked Google Cloud and Gemini Enterprise under a five-year technology agreement for site selection, plant optimisation and grid-security work. The package folds an AI sale into the power story.
Limits#
- Only 890 MW is new generation (from 2028). The 2.7 GW is a financial supply contract, not new build.
- The supply deal is 15-year in the primary release; CNBC called it "long-term."
- No price disclosed for the power.
Sources#
- Google Cloud Press Corner: Google and Constellation 890 MW new nuclear capacity agreement (October 6, 2026)
- CNBC: Google enters massive 3.6-GW power deal with Constellation Energy (October 6, 2026)
- U.S. Department of Energy: Energy Department announces $5 billion loan to boost nuclear power and help lower costs (October 27, 2026)
- Constellation: Constellation secures conditional DOE loan commitment of up to $5 billion to expand nuclear output (October 27, 2026)
- TechCrunch: Trump DOE loans $5B to nuclear plants that will power data centers (October 28, 2026)