The U.S. Department of Energy closed a loan agreement of up to $1.9 billion with NextEra Energy on Sept. 8, 2026, to fund the planned restart of Iowa’s Duane Arnold Energy Center, which has been offline since 2020. The 615-megawatt plant is targeted to return by early 2029, subject to Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval. Google has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement for most of the plant’s generation to support its AI data centers, while 50 megawatts are reserved for local customers. The project is expected to create nearly 1,500 restart-phase construction jobs, more than 450 permanent operating jobs and contribute more than $9 billion to Iowa’s economy over the Google contract’s term. The financing marks renewed federal and technology-sector interest in reviving closed nuclear plants as sources of carbon-free baseload power for rising data-center electricity demand.