NextEra Energy has reached a 25-year power-purchase agreement with Google to support restart of the Duane Arnold nuclear plant near Cedar Rapids, Iowa, NextEra said Monday.
The 615-megawatt boiling water reactor closed in 2020. Provided the government approvals are secured, NextEra Energy hopes to have it up and running again in the first quarter of 2029. Plant restart should provide 400 full-time jobs, NextEra said.
Google will buy electricity from the nuclear plant to support the search company’s artificial intelligence infrastructure, NextEra said in an Oct. 27 press release.
Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO), one of Duane Arnold’s minority owners, will buy the rest of the nuclear plant’s electricity, NextEra said in the release.
In addition, Florida-based NextEra has agreed to buy out CIPCO and Corn Belt Power Cooperative’s combined 30% ownership interest in Duane Arnold. The transaction will make NextEra Energy the plant’s sole owner.
In the same release, NextEra also said it signed an agreement with Google to explore additional development of new nuclear power in the United States to meet growing electricity demand.
NextEra announced in January it had filed paperwork with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to move toward restarting the plant. Prior to its 2020 retirement, the NRC license was not scheduled to expire until early 2034, according to an NRC fact sheet.
“Restarting Duane Arnold marks an important milestone for NextEra Energy,” said NextEra Chairman and CEO John Ketchum in the release. “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.”
“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,” said Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google.
Ketchum said NextEra and Google have a longstanding business relationship.
In addition, Google and NextEra are both donors to President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom construction project, according to published reports.