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Duane Arnold Energy Center Restart — Google 25-Year PPA

Developer
NextEra Energy / Google
Capacity
615 MWe
Last updated
9/9/2026

Project overview

Reactor type
BWR
Announced
10/28/2025
Projected operational
12/31/2029

Notes

Google and NextEra Energy signed a 25-year power purchase agreement on October 27/28, 2025 for NextEra to restart the 615 MWe Duane Arnold Energy Center in Palo, Iowa — Iowa's only nuclear facility. The plant was shut down in 2020. NextEra was granted permission to reconnect the plant to the Iowa grid in September 2025. FERC filings suggest Duane Arnold could be powered up in Q1 2028 at the earliest, with NextEra targeting a 2029 restart. Google also signed a separate agreement to explore new nuclear generation development with NextEra nationwide. Google plans up to six data centres near Duane Arnold and has invested $7 billion in Iowa data centre infrastructure (June 2025). Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds: "Restarting Duane Arnold marks an important milestone for Iowa's energy future." NextEra Energy received a USD 1.9 billion DOE loan (announced September 2026) to finance the plant's refurbishment; the DOE Deputy Secretary said the restart, still targeted for 2029, will help drive down electricity costs. Refurbishment is expected to add approximately 14 MW, bringing total capacity to roughly 629 MW (current stored capacity_mw of 615 reflects pre-refurbishment nameplate). Only 50 MW is set aside for the local power cooperative; the loan is the second of its kind after Three Mile Island's, suggesting a broader federal pattern of backing reactor restarts for AI data centre demand.

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