Cameco cheers US$17.5-billion conditional loan package for new U.S. reactors

Tim Gitzel, chief executive officer at Cameco, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss the company's earnings and the global demand for uranium.

SASKATOON — Saskatchewan uranium miner Cameco Corp. is cheering the U.S. Department of Energy’s announcement of a conditional US$17.5-billion loan package to speed up new reactor builds.

The department’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing says the loans are for five eligible projects — each with two reactors — sponsored by utilities and energy companies across the U.S.

The goal is to quickly deploy 10 large-scale commercial reactors by providing financing for components that take a long time to manufacture and deliver.

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The only licensed large-scale advanced commercial reactors operating in the United States currently are Westinghouse Electric Co.’s AP1000 units.

Saskatoon-based Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management together own Westinghouse.

Cameco says certain technical, legal, environmental and financial conditions must be met before the Department of Energy enters into definitive financing documents and funds the loans.

Just over a year ago, U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders with the goal of quadrupling domestic production of nuclear power within the next 25 years.

“When combined with the May 23, 2025 executive orders and other U.S. government initiatives, we believe the right incentives are being created to advance the rapid deployment of AP1000 reactors in the U.S.,” Cameco CEO Tim Gitzel said in a news release Tuesday.

“The expansion of nuclear power in the United States is expected to create significant opportunities for Westinghouse and Cameco, accelerating growth in Westinghouse’s energy systems segment during the procurement and subsequent construction phase.”

The Department of Energy says each project will be jointly owned by Westinghouse and a utility or energy company partner. Both parties are required to fully commit their project equity — US$500 million each — upfront before accessing loan funds.

Each of the reactors would generate 1.1 gigawatts of power, with the combined output enough for almost 10 million households, the Department of Energy said.

“These conditional loans will play an important role in reviving the supply chain needed for America to once again build large-scale commercial reactors,” U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a news release.

“They will also help accelerate the timeline of building those large-scale reactors by up to three years, lowering construction costs and ensuring the United States is able to deliver on President Trump’s bold and ambitious energy addition agenda.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2026.