The loan, to subsidiaries of the utility Southern Company, would fund new gas power and improvements for existing nuclear power plants and water power, as well as battery storage system and power line upgrades.
In a press call on Wednesday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said, “This allows data center development, this allows reshoring of American manufacturing.”
He also noted that the announcement was coming in conjunction with Southern Company’s recent announcements that it would freeze rates for the next few years in these states.
Greg Beard, director of the department’s loans office, said that the energy supported by the funds be enough to power 15 million homes.
He said that Georgia Power would get $22.5 billion and Alabama Power would get $4.1 billion.
“This is the largest investment by the U.S. government ever in a non-crisis time,” Beard said.
Read at TheHill.com.
