Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2663 actions· ✨ 89 recent

President Trump issued five Presidential Determinations on 20 April 2026 under Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. § 4533), invoking the authority granted by Executive Order 14156 (Declaring a National Energy Emergency, signed 20 January 2025). The five determinations cover: (1) domestic petroleum production, refining, and logistics; (2) large-scale energy and energy-related infrastructure development, manufacturing, and deployment; (3) natural gas transmission, processing, storage, and LNG capacity; (4) coal supply chains and baseload power generation; (5) grid infrastructure, equipment, and supply chain. Each determination authorises the relevant Cabinet Secretary (primarily Energy) to use DPA §303 powers — direct loans, loan guarantees, purchase commitments, and equity investments — to expand domestic capacity in the named category.

The Texas Energy Fund, administered by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), finalized a USD 370 million low-interest (3%) state loan to NRG Energy Inc. to fund 60% of the cost of a new 455 MW natural-gas peaking unit ("Greens Bayou 6") at the existing Greens Bayou Generating Station in Harris County, Texas. The loan runs a 20-year term (20 November 2025 to 20 November 2045); total project cost is estimated at under USD 617 million and the facility is expected online in 2028, interconnecting into the ERCOT Houston Load Zone. This is the sixth loan finalized under the TxEF's In-ERCOT Generation Loan Program, part of a state-level subsidized-lending program that has now backed over 3,500 MW of new dispatchable generation capacity to shore up ERCOT grid reliability following the 2021 winter-storm blackouts.

DOE's Loan Programs Office concurrently finalized a conditional loan commitment and financial close on a USD 1 billion interest-bearing loan to Constellation Energy Generation, LLC, funded under the newly created Energy Dominance Financing Program, to help restart the 835 MW Crane Clean Energy Center (formerly Three Mile Island Unit 1) on the Susquehanna River in Londonderry Township, Pennsylvania. The reactor shut down in 2019 for market reasons (not safety) and was never fully decommissioned; restart is pending NRC licensing approval and is expected to power roughly 800,000 Mid-Atlantic homes, supporting domestic manufacturing and AI-datacenter power demand. A Pennsylvania Building & Construction Trades Council economic-impact study cited in the DOE release estimates ~3,400 direct/indirect jobs, over USD 16 billion in state GDP, and more than USD 3 billion in state/federal tax revenue over the project life.

The Texas Energy Fund (TxEF), administered by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), finalized a USD 1.12 billion low-interest (3%) 20-year state loan to Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) to fund 60% of the USD 1.88 billion cost of the CPV Basin Ranch Energy Center, a 1,350 MW combined-cycle natural-gas plant in Ward County (Permian Basin), Texas. The loan term runs 28 October 2025 to 28 October 2045; the plant is expected online in 2029 in the ERCOT West Load Zone and is explicitly framed by the state as capacity to serve West Texas AI/data-center electricity demand. This is the fifth loan finalized under TxEF's In-ERCOT Generation Loan Program and the largest single project financed under it to date, taking cumulative TxEF-backed capacity above 3,100 MW.

The Texas Energy Fund (TxEF), administered by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), finalized a USD 278.3 million low-interest (3%) 20-year state loan to Calpine Corporation to fund roughly 60% of the USD 464 million cost of the Pin Oak Creek Energy Center, a 460 MW natural-gas peaking (quick-start) facility in Freestone County, Texas, sited adjacent to Calpine's existing Freestone Energy Center. The plant is expected online before summer 2026 in the ERCOT North Load Zone, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. This is the fourth loan finalized under TxEF's In-ERCOT Generation Loan Program, following the NRG Greens Bayou and CPV Basin Ranch tranches, and brings cumulative TxEF-backed capacity to nearly 1,800 MW.

The Texas Energy Fund (TxEF), administered by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), finalized a USD 562 million low-interest (3%) 20-year state loan to NRG Energy Inc. to fund 60% of the USD 936 million cost of a new 721 MW natural-gas peaking facility at NRG's existing Cedar Bayou Generating Station in Chambers County, near Baytown, Texas. The loan runs from 26 September 2025 to 25 September 2045; the plant is expected online by summer 2028 serving the ERCOT power region. This is the third loan finalized under TxEF's In-ERCOT Generation Loan Program and the largest to date, and is NRG's second TxEF-backed tranche (following the smaller Greens Bayou 6 loan finalized two months later on 20 November 2025).

The Texas Energy Fund (TxEF), administered by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), finalized a USD 216 million low-interest (3%) 20-year state loan to NRG Energy Inc. to fund 60% of the under-USD-360 million cost of two new natural-gas peaking units (456 MW combined) at NRG's existing TH Wharton Generating Station in Houston. The loan runs from 31 July 2025 to 30 July 2045; the facility interconnects into the ERCOT Houston Load Zone and began commercial operation by mid-2026. This is the second loan finalized under TxEF's In-ERCOT Generation Loan Program, preceding NRG's later Cedar Bayou (September 2025) and Greens Bayou (November 2025) tranches under the same program.

President Biden signed into law on 13 May 2024 the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act (Division H of the National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, Public Law 118-50). The law bans imports to the United States of unirradiated low-enriched uranium (LEU) produced in Russia or by Russian state entities, effective immediately, with a waiver mechanism allowing the Department of Energy to grant case-by-case exceptions through 2027 where no alternative supply is available. The law also authorised up to $2.72B to support US uranium enrichment capacity via CENTRUS and allied enrichment partnerships.