In a landmark step for the U.S. clean energy transition, Google and NextEra Energy have announced a long-term partnership to restart the Duane Arnold Energy Center, a nuclear power plant in Iowa that was decommissioned in 2020. Under the deal, Google will purchase power from the 615 MW facility for 25 years, using the carbon-free electricity to power its rapidly expanding AI and cloud infrastructure in the state. The collaboration marks a major milestone in the convergence of technology and energy, as tech companies race to secure reliable, low-carbon baseload power to sustain the data-intensive demands of artificial intelligence.

Reviving Nuclear to Meet the AI Energy Surge

The Duane Arnold Energy Center, located near Cedar Rapids, Iowa, first entered service in 1975 and operated for over four decades before shutting down in 2020. Under the new agreement, the facility is expected to return to operation in early 2029, positioning Iowa as a critical node in the U.S. clean energy and digital infrastructure network. Google’s 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) will anchor the investment needed to restart the plant and modernize its systems for next-generation nuclear operation. The company will source a majority of the plant’s output, while Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO) will purchase the remainder under equivalent terms. The agreement also includes a strategic collaboration between Google and NextEra to develop new nuclear generation projects across the U.S., signaling that nuclear energy is re-emerging as a cornerstone of decarbonized digital growth.

“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.

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NextEra’s Role: Reinventing Nuclear for the Clean Power Era

For NextEra Energy, one of the world’s largest energy infrastructure providers, the project represents both a commercial milestone and a statement of intent. “Restarting Duane Arnold marks an important milestone for NextEra Energy,” said John Ketchum, Chairman and CEO. “Our partnership with Google not only brings nuclear energy back to Iowa, it also accelerates the development of next-generation nuclear technology.” NextEra also announced that it will acquire the remaining 30% ownership stake in the Duane Arnold facility, previously held by CIPCO and Corn Belt Power Cooperative, consolidating full ownership ahead of the restart. The move reflects a growing recognition across the U.S. power sector that nuclear energy’s reliability and zero-emission profile make it indispensable for achieving national decarbonization goals, especially as renewables alone struggle to meet surging electricity demand from AI, cloud computing, and electrification.

Strategic Context: AI, Energy, and Decarbonization

Google’s nuclear revival strategy underscores a broader trend among global tech firms: securing firm, carbon-free energy to sustain AI-driven infrastructure. The company’s electricity demand has skyrocketed with the expansion of large-scale data centers powering machine learning models and cloud services. While Google has been a long-standing leader in renewable procurement signing more than 170 clean energy agreements totaling over 22 GW since 2010, it has increasingly turned to emerging technologies such as geothermal, advanced nuclear, energy storage, and carbon capture to ensure reliability around the clock. In its most recent Environmental Report, Google reaffirmed its goal to operate on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030, even as it acknowledged that soaring AI workloads and a lag in renewable deployment have made the target more complex. Despite the growth in demand, Google still managed to cut data center emissions by 12% in 2024, highlighting progress toward operational decarbonization.

Nuclear Power’s Comeback in the Clean Energy Mix

The Iowa project exemplifies a broader policy and market shift: nuclear power’s resurgence as a credible climate solution. With many legacy reactors closing over the past two decades, the U.S. has faced a shrinking nuclear fleet even as energy demand from digital industries surges. Restarting Duane Arnold provides a model for reinvesting in existing assets rather than building entirely new plants from scratch. By combining private capital from Google with NextEra’s operational expertise, the project could shorten timelines and reduce financial risk compared to greenfield nuclear development. For policymakers and investors, the partnership signals that corporate procurement of nuclear energy, once unthinkable is now a viable strategy for decarbonizing industrial-scale electricity use.

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Outlook: Toward a Carbon-Free Digital Economy

The partnership between Google and NextEra Energy represents more than a single project; it’s a blueprint for the next phase of the energy transition, where industrial and digital players co-invest in firm, zero-carbon generation to sustain growth without compromising climate goals. If successful, the Duane Arnold restart could pave the way for similar collaborations across the U.S., blending AI-driven demand with carbon-free baseload power from both existing and next-generation nuclear technologies.

As Porat put it, “The clean energy future depends on partnerships that combine innovation, investment, and infrastructure at scale.”

With the global tech sector consuming record amounts of energy, the Duane Arnold project may stand as an inflection point proving that nuclear energy, once viewed as legacy infrastructure, is poised to become the backbone of the AI-powered clean economy.

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