Top US Nuke Plant Owner Wants to Add Equivalent of One Reactor

(Bloomberg) -- Constellation Energy Corp. expects to expand the biggest US nuclear power-plant fleet by the equivalent of an entire new reactor, just by upgrading the ones it already has. 

The company is already spending $800 million to add new equipment that will boost output by 135 megawatts at two Illinois nuclear sites, and Chief Executive Officer Joe Dominguez is planning to pursue similar projects at other facilities. This so-called uprate process will eventually add about 1,000 megawatts of capacity at the company’s 14 nuclear plants, he said Thursday.

Uprates are a key part of Constellation’s strategy to expand its supply of carbon-free power amid growing support for nuclear energy in the US. The company canceled earlier projects more than a decade ago, when reactors were struggling to compete against cheap natural gas and renewables. But the company has said that the tax incentives in President Joe Biden’s signature climate legislation prompted it to reconsider the value of investing in its fleet. 

“We’re adding megawatts by using uprates to increase the output of our current machines,” Dominguez said during a conference call with analysts. “We’re looking at many opportunities to do that at other plants.” He said the upgrades could add up to 1,000 megawatts — roughly equivalent to one conventional reactor — of clean power that would be available around the clock.

Constellation shares have surged more than 75% this year as utilities forecast the first significant increase in electricity demand in decades. Along with efforts to electrify more of the economy to rein in climate change, the boom in artificial intelligence is spurring development of power-hungry data centers. 

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