EXCLUSIVE: Google announced a new partnership with NextEra Energy to restart Iowa’s only nuclear power plant, a move aimed at meeting the growing energy demands of artificial intelligence while strengthening America’s clean-energy grid.
The Duane Arnold Energy Center in Palo, Iowa, is expected to reopen by 2029 after closing in 2020, primarily to power Google’s AI and cloud operations with clean, round-the-clock nuclear energy.
“Google’s partnership with NextEra to reopen the Duane Arnold Energy Center will deliver nuclear energy and create more than 1,600 direct, indirect and induced jobs for the plant’s construction and hundreds of permanent roles, contributing more than $340 million to Iowa’s economy each year,” Alphabet and Google’s President and Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat said in a statement.
“The effort underscores Google’s focus on responsibly building energy capacity that is essential for America to continue to lead in AI and builds on our two decades of investment in Iowa,” Porat added, “including our announcement this May that Google intends to invest an additional $7 billion in the state to enable a new era of American innovation while unlocking economic opportunities across the Hawkeye State.”
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Earlier this month, the U.S. Energy Information Administration projected that power consumption will hit record highs over the next two years — climbing to 4,191 billion kilowatt-hours in 2025 and 4,305 billion kWh in 2026, up from 4,097 billion kWh in 2024, driven largely by AI data centers.
The agreement between Google and NextEra includes a 25-year power purchase deal for the Duane Arnold plant and a framework to explore additional nuclear projects nationwide. NextEra will assume full ownership after acquiring stakes from CIPCO and Corn Belt Power Cooperative.
Duane Arnold is expected to come online and deliver power to the grid by the first quarter of 2029, pending regulatory approval to restart operations.
“Restarting Duane Arnold represents a watershed moment for NextEra Energy as we lead America’s golden age of power demand,” NextEra’s Chairman and CEO John Ketchum also said in a statement.
“Our collaboration with Google not only enables the return of reliable nuclear generation to Iowa but also launches a major initiative to advance nuclear technology across the country,” Ketchum continued. “These efforts position NextEra Energy at the forefront of meeting America’s growing power needs, creating hundreds of long-term jobs and delivering lasting economic value for our shareholders and the communities we serve.”
According to a press release, the project will create about 1,600 direct, indirect and induced jobs during construction, plus 400 full-time positions once operational. The agreement marks nearly 3 gigawatts of joint energy projects executed by Google and NextEra.
The companies estimate $340 million in annual statewide economic output and $3 million in yearly tax revenue for local schools and infrastructure — a technological milestone that underscores America’s evolving energy future.
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