Google teams up with energy giant to revive a long-shuttered nuclear plant

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.

“Building on two decades of work in Iowa, including our recent $7 billion investment in the state this May, Google is proud to partner with NextEra Energy to reopen the Duane Arnold Energy Center – a project that will deliver nuclear energy and hundreds of new job opportunities in the Hawkeye State by the beginning of 2029,” Alphabet and Google’s President and Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat said in a statement.

“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,” Porat added.

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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 marks an important milestone for NextEra Energy,” NextEra’s Chairman and CEO John Ketchum also said in a statement.

“Our partnership with Google not only brings nuclear energy back to Iowa — it also accelerates the development of next-generation nuclear technology,” Ketchum continued. “Thanks to the leadership of the Trump Administration, Google and NextEra Energy are answering the call of America’s golden age of power demand, creating thousands of jobs, strengthening Iowa’s economy, delivering long-term value to our shareholders and helping power America’s future through innovation and technology.”

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 three 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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