Google, NextEra Energy partnering to reopen nuclear power plant by early 2029
LINN COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) — NextEra Energy announced a partnership with Google Monday that will reopen the Duane Arnold Energy Center to provide nuclear power for Google’s data centers.
Google plans to purchase power from Iowa’s only nuclear facility, located near Palo, for the next 25 years to power artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud operations.
According to NextEra, the plant will restart operations in the first quarter of 2029. A small percentage of the plant’s output will go to Iowa consumers, but the overwhelming majority will be used by Google.
On the third-quarter earnings call Tuesday morning, NextEra CEO said the re-launching of the plant expands on a new kind of economic opportunity in the area.
“The 615-megawatt plant is just the beginning and will help power Google’s growing cloud and AI infrastructure in Iowa once it returns to operation,” said John Ketchum, NextEra chairman, president and CEO.
Bill Orlove, spokesperson for the company, called this moment a “tipping point” where the energy need for AI and data centers is “really enormous.”
According to a Pew Research report, data centers accounted for more than 4% of the United States’ electricity consumption last year — or equivalent to the consumption of Pakistan.
Natural gas supplied more than 40% of power for American data centers along with renewables like wind providing 24% and nuclear supplying around 20%, according to the International Energy Agency.
“We need to meet those demands as an energy company,” said Orlove. “Duane Arnold helps us meet those demands, specifically in Iowa, but is also part of [President Trump’s] administration’s goal to bring more megawatts of nuclear energy onto the grid by 2030.”
Google is building a data center in southwestern Cedar Rapids. The tech giant has announced $7 billion in investments into the state in the next two years through that development, as well as expansion of its Council Bluffs facility, which opened in 2007.
The company has also approached Linn County with plans to build a second data center close to the Duane Arnold plant.
“We’re estimating that this will bring $9 billion of economic activity to the state of Iowa during the operation of the plant and it’s also going to bring 400 high-quality, high-paying jobs to Eastern Iowa,” said Orlove.
Orlove said NextEra plans to host its first licensing class early next year to prepare employees for the reopening. The company anticipates 1600 jobs created during the refurbishment process.
He explained the recommissioning won’t mean higher rates for electricity customers.
“Google will be paying for getting Duane Arnold back online,” said Orlove. “This will not be impacting the residential or business customers of any Iowa utility.”
NextEra also announced it will be buying out the 20% stake in Duane Arnold owned by the Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO) and the 10% owned by the Corn Belt Power Cooperative.
Kerry Koonce, vice president of communications at CIPCO, said the buyout process will commence once the approval process for the reopening is underway. The plans must be approved by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission and must follow the recently approved Cedar Rapids nuclear ordinance rules.
CIPCO will purchase up to 8% of the energy output for its customers throughout Iowa, with the overwhelming majority used by Google.
“While the restart process indicates that Google will be the primary off-taker, adding more generation into the grid overall creates a reliability into the system that benefits everybody in Iowa,” said Koonce.
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