IOWA: Google has partnered with NextEra Energy to revive the Duane Arnold Energy Center, a nuclear power plant in Iowa that was shut down in 2020 after sustaining storm damage. The move marks a major step in Google’s push to secure zero-carbon energy for its expanding network of data centers.
NextEra had been seeking a partner to help restart the facility for over a year and found one in Google, which has committed to purchasing most of the plant’s power output for 25 years. Neither company disclosed the financial terms of the deal.
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Originally designed to produce 601 megawatts of electricity, the Duane Arnold reactor will generate an additional 14 megawatts once repairs and upgrades are complete. The plant is expected to reopen by 2029, with the remaining power supplied to the Central Iowa Power Cooperative, which currently holds a 20% stake in the project.
The collaboration reflects a broader revival of nuclear power among major tech firms and energy providers, as growing data center demand pushes companies to seek stable and carbon-free energy sources. Last year, Microsoft struck a similar deal with Constellation Energy to restart a reactor at Three Mile Island, a $1.6 billion project expected to go online by 2028.
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While restarting existing reactors is faster than building new ones, these efforts still take years. In the meantime, companies like Google continue to invest heavily in solar, wind, and battery storage, which can be deployed more rapidly to meet immediate energy needs.