NextEra Secures $1.9 Billion DOE Loan to Revive 615-MW Iowa Reactor for AI Data Centers
Updated
Updated · The Seattle Times · Sep 8
NextEra Secures $1.9 Billion DOE Loan to Revive 615-MW Iowa Reactor for AI Data Centers
3 articles · Updated · The Seattle Times · Sep 8
Summary
$1.9 billion in DOE financing will fund NextEra Energy’s refurbishment of the Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Iowa, with the 615-megawatt reactor targeted to restart in 2029.
Google’s plan to build up to six nearby data centers is a key driver, as utilities race to meet AI-led power demand that data centers are expected to nearly triple by 2035.
Duane Arnold has been offline since a 2020 rainstorm damaged the plant; NextEra mothballed it then because cheap natural gas made repairs uneconomic.
50 megawatts are reserved for the local power cooperative—about 18% of Iowa’s demand growth since 2021—while the refurbishment will add 14 megawatts to the plant’s prior capacity.
The loan is the DOE’s second major nuclear-restart financing after a $1 billion package for Three Mile Island, underscoring revived reactors as a fast clean-power option for tech companies.