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U.S. Powers Up $80 Billion Westinghouse Nuclear Comeback
The Trump administration has struck an $80 billion deal to build Westinghouse nuclear plants, potentially making the U.S. government an 8% shareholder if the company goes public by 2029.
The world’s largest land crane cane be seen also nuclear waste canisters (Photo by Pallava Bagla/Corbis via Getty Images)
The Trump administration’s plan to invest tens of billions of dollars in Westinghouse nuclear plants could transform the company into an independent, publicly traded enterprise with the U.S. government as a major shareholder.
The Commerce Department signed a deal last week with Westinghouse owners Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management to spend $80 billion building nuclear plants across the United States.
Under the agreement, the U.S. government is granted a participation interest in Westinghouse and can require an initial public offering on or before January 2029 if the company’s value reaches $30 billion or more.
Cameco Chief Operating Officer Grant Isaac said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call that the government could hold up to an 8% stake in Westinghouse under this arrangement. The U.S. would not gain a stake in Cameco or Brookfield through the deal, he added.
Cameco would consider spinning off Westinghouse as an independent company in 2029, depending on market conditions. “There is definitely a unique interest in investing just in Westinghouse,” Isaac said. “Cameco is a funny proxy for that. Brookfield’s probably an even funnier proxy to invest in just Westinghouse.”
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Cameco, one of the world’s largest uranium miners, and Brookfield, a major global energy investor, together acquired Westinghouse in 2023. “This partnership agreement does not force us to leave Westinghouse in 2029. We don’t have to sell any of our share, or we may if the value of Westinghouse is so significant come 2029 when that window opens up,” Isaac said.
The government’s interest in Westinghouse will only vest once it makes a final investment decision and definitive agreements for $80 billion worth of new U.S. reactor projects. Isaac said financing tools such as Department of Energy loans and support from “other jurisdictions” are under consideration.
Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactor, capable of producing one gigawatt of power enough to supply over 750,000 homes is at the center of the plan. President Donald Trump’s May executive order calls for construction of 10 large reactors by 2030.
While Westinghouse struggled with past projects, including a 2017 bankruptcy due to cost overruns in Georgia and South Carolina, the company’s resurgence signals renewed U.S. commitment to nuclear energy. The first two AP1000 reactors came online at Georgia’s Plant Vogtle in 2023 and 2024.
Cameco’s Isaac said the U.S. government’s investment acts as a key market stimulant for the nuclear sector. “What the U.S. government has done is committed to step in and be that stimulant if you will, their commitment is to facilitate the financing,” he said.
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Editor’s Note:
The Trump administration’s ambitious $80 billion plan marks one of the largest government-backed investments in America’s nuclear sector in decades. As Westinghouse eyes a potential return to public markets, the deal underscores Washington’s growing push to secure domestic energy independence and technological dominance.
