The U.S. Department of Energy has offered Vistra Corp. a conditional loan commitment of up to $4.2 billion to finance power uprates and modernization at three nuclear plants, including Davis-Besse near Oak Harbor and Perry in Lake County.
The announcement came Monday from the DOE’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing. The projects would add 433 megawatts of new nuclear capacity while preserving nearly 4 gigawatts of existing baseload output, and are expected to support about 3,000 project-related engineering, construction and planned-outage jobs. The 433 megawatts match the uprate output Vistra agreed in January to sell to Meta under 20-year power purchase agreements.
The commitment is conditional. Vistra must satisfy technical, legal, environmental and financial requirements before the DOE enters into definitive financing documents and funds the loan. No interest rate or repayment terms were disclosed.
“President Trump and Secretary Wright have set a clear direction for America’s nuclear future, and EDF is financing the projects that advance that mission,” Energy Dominance Financing Director Gregory A. Beard said. “These investments will extend the life of existing reactors, increase nuclear generation, and deliver abundant, around-the-clock power to lower costs and power American prosperity for decades to come.”
Vistra told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in January that it plans to apply for Perry’s uprate in the second half of 2029 and reach the higher power level in the second quarter of 2031, with Davis-Besse targeted for the second quarter of 2034. The DOE said the investments would support the plants’ operation for an additional 20 years beyond their existing licenses.
The planned Perry work includes a new auxiliary cooling tower, two support buildings and potential replacement of the main turbine and generator components, with construction anticipated to begin this month.
