NextEra Energy has secured a U.S. Department of Energy loan of up to $1.9 billion to help restart Iowa’s Duane Arnold Energy Center, a nuclear plant that has been closed since 2020. The 615-megawatt facility is expected to return to service by the first quarter of 2029, pending regulatory approvals.
The DOE financing follows a 2025 agreement between NextEra and Google covering energy from the restarted plant. Under the 25-year arrangement, Google will purchase power from Duane Arnold as demand grows from its operations and AI infrastructure.
NextEra confirmed the financing in its official announcement on September 8. The Department of Energy said the project will provide electricity to the Midcontinent Independent System Operator grid and help support growing power demand in Iowa.
Google Backs Duane Arnold Restart
Duane Arnold stopped operating in 2020 after severe storm damage, when low natural gas prices also made restarting the facility less economically attractive. NextEra and Google announced plans to revive the plant in October 2025.
NextEra plans to increase the plant’s generating capacity by 14 megawatts to 615 megawatts during refurbishment. The project is expected to support more than 400 permanent jobs once operational, while the company estimates it could generate more than $9 billion in economic benefits for Iowa over 25 years.
Only 50 megawatts of the facility’s output is expected to be reserved for the local power cooperative, according to comments previously made by NextEra CEO John Ketchum. Google has also reportedly considered building as many as six data centers near the plant in Linn County.
Nuclear Restarts Draw New Data Center Demand
Duane Arnold is the second recently shuttered U.S. nuclear facility to receive major federal financing for a restart. The DOE provided Constellation Energy with a $1 billion loan in November 2025 to restart the 835-megawatt Crane Clean Energy Center in Pennsylvania, formerly known as Three Mile Island Unit 1.
Microsoft has agreed to purchase power from that facility, which is scheduled to restart in 2028. Meta separately signed a 20-year agreement with Constellation covering the 1,121-megawatt Clinton Clean Energy Center in Illinois, helping keep the existing plant operating as electricity demand from data centers increases.
The DOE said Duane Arnold could power nearly 500,000 homes once restarted. The project still requires licensing approvals from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission before NextEra can return the reactor to commercial operation.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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