Google’s revived nuclear power plant gets $1. 9B loan from US government

Google’s revived nuclear power plant gets $1. 9B loan from US government. 25% off tickets now Back by popular demand: Save up to $300 on Disrupt Close Image Credits:Micha Pawlitzki (opens in a new window) / Getty Images Climate Google’s revived nuclear power plant gets $1.

What happened

9B loan from US government Tim De Chant 8:25 AM PDT · September 8, 2026 Last October, Google said it would bring an Iowa nuclear power plant back from the dead. Google said it would bring an Iowa nuclear power plant back from the dead. Now, the plant's owner is getting a $1. 9B loan from the U. S. Energy Department. The sizable loan is the second of its kind, suggesting that the Trump administration views revived nuclear power as a key source of electricity for tech companies seeking to power their AI data centers.

Google is reportedly looking to build up to six data centers near the Duane Arnold Energy Center, which hasn’t operated since 2020 when an intense rainstorm damaged the power plant. Shuttered nuclear power plants are becoming one of the tech industry’s favorite choices to quickly provide clean, firm power. Topics Climate, Google, NextEra Energy, nuclear power When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. James Danly, Deputy Secretary of Energy, said that the Iowa power plant’s restart in 2029 will “drive down electricity costs,” though he did not explain how.

The wider picture

At the time, cheap natural gas was flooding the market, making nuclear power economically unappealing. The tech giant’s Hyperion AI data center, for example, will need 10 natural gas power plants to operate. Altogether, the three power plants represent the lowest hanging fruit in the U. Last year, the Department of Energy extended a $1 billion loan to Constellation Energy to restart a reactor at Three Mile Island. Just 50 megawatts will be set aside for the local power cooperative, NextEra CEO John Ketchum said during an earnings call last year.

After decades of little growth in demand, the sudden rise of AI coupled with broader electrification of the economy meant that utilities and power providers were suddenly scrambling to find new generating sources of electricity. REGISTER NOW Most Popular A secret new Elizabeth Holmes documentary stuns Telluride Connie Loizos TechCrunch Mobility: Tesla Cybercab hits the road — and a snag Kirsten Korosec Hikers rescued after using Google Gemini for planning Anthony Ha Feds launch investigation into Tesla’s Cybercab deployment Sean O'Kane Kirsten Korosec Tesla is asking people if they want to buy and run Cybercab fleets Kirsten Korosec Norway considers ban on camera-enabled wearable ‘pervert glasses’ Zack Whittaker Uber is laying off 10% of staff, or 3,300 people Ram Iyer Loading the next article Error loading the next article

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What has been reported

Now the facility’s owner, NextEra Energy, has received a $1. Department of Energy to finance the refurbishment. That capacity would cover 18% of Iowa’s demand growth since 2021, the year before ChatGPT was released. Rather than repair it, NextEra decided to mothball it. A lot has changed in the last six years, though. New data centers are expected to nearly triple the sector’s electricity demand by 2035. Microsoft signed a deal with Constellation Energy two years ago to restart a reactor at Three Mile Island that last operated in 2019.

The reactor is scheduled to restart in 2028 and generate 835 megawatts.

What happens next

Another facility in Illinois, Constellation Energy’s Clinton Clean Energy Center, was in danger of closing down before its parent found a new customer in Meta, which is buying all of the clean energy attributes from the 1. The arrangement will see Clinton sending its electrons to the local grid, while Meta will use the certificates to offset emissions it is producing elsewhere. If completed, the data center will consume more electricity than all of South Dakota.

Duane Arnold is smaller, but in the process of refurbishment, NextEra will squeeze an additional 14 megawatts from the facility, bringing the total to 615 megawatts. There might be one or two more, according to a report from Utility Dive, though those candidates, including San Onofre in California, have been shuttered for longer and would require more work to bring back online. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence. Tim De Chant Senior Reporter, Climate Tim De Chant is a senior climate reporter at TechCrunch.