DOE Finalizes $1.9B Loan for Iowa Nuclear Restart

The U.S. Department of Energy finalized a loan of up to $1.9 billion to NextEra Energy to help restart Iowa’s 615-megawatt Duane Arnold Energy Center, which shut down in 2020 after a derecho damaged its cooling infrastructure. The plant is expected to return to service by late 2028 or early 2029, pending Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing reviews and inspections. Google has committed to purchasing most of the plant’s output under a 25-year power agreement, primarily to support growing electricity demand from data centers and artificial intelligence; the facility is projected to power nearly 500,000 homes. The project could create about 1,500 construction jobs and more than 450 permanent positions, with federal officials estimating billions of dollars in long-term economic benefits for Iowa. The deal is the third major federal financing commitment aimed at restarting a retired U.S. nuclear plant, although no previously shuttered American reactor has yet successfully resumed operations.