NextEra Energy and Google will restart Iowa’s 615-megawatt Duane Arnold Energy Center by early 2029 under a 25-year agreement that commits the tech giant to buy the plant’s output.
The plant is Iowa’s lone nuclear facility and closed in 2020 after 45 years of operation. The restart places a large baseload unit back on the grid on a defined timeline tied to contracted demand.
Commercial terms disclosed in the notes show Google taking the bulk of the energy while Central Iowa Power Cooperative will purchase the remaining portion on the same terms. NextEra said it signed agreements to acquire the 30% interest owned by that cooperative and Corn Belt Power Cooperative, which would take NextEra’s ownership to 100%.
The announcement follows a similar restart move at the former Three Mile Island site owned by Constellation Energy to serve Microsoft data centers, and it extends a trend of hyperscalers including Google, Microsoft, and Amazon contracting future nuclear output, including from fusion and small modular reactors.
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“This partnership serves as a model for the investments needed across the country to build energy capacity and deliver reliable, clean power, while protecting affordability and creating jobs that will drive the AI-driven economy,” said Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google.
Global signals remain supportive. Bill Gates said China is outspending the world on nuclear power, highlighting intensifying competition to build reactors and advanced systems that can supply data centers.
Japan listed large nuclear projects among the biggest items in a US flagship fund of $550 billion, including Westinghouse AP1000 builds and small modular reactors expected to be worth up to $100 billion each, with potential roles for Japanese suppliers such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and possible SMR participation by GE Vernova and Hitachi.
In the US, there are three nuclear restart efforts under way and none has yet brought a mothballed plant back into service.
Information for this briefing was found via Reuters and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
