Pending Regulatory Approvals: NextEra Energy and Google on the Planned Restart of Duane Arnold

NextEra Energy and Google announced on October 27, 2025, in a release headed with both companies' names, that Google would buy power from a nuclear plant in Iowa that was shut down in 2020. The plant is the Duane Arnold Energy Center, near Cedar Rapids, which the release calls "Iowa’s only nuclear facility." It says the plant "is expected to be online and delivering electricity onto the grid by the first quarter of 2029, pending regulatory approvals to restart the plant." Parts of the release follow, not the whole.

A Plant to Be Restarted

The release speaks of "the planned restart" of Duane Arnold. Once the plant is operational, it says, "Google will purchase power from the 615-MW plant as a 24/7 carbon-free energy source to help power Google’s growing cloud and AI infrastructure in Iowa." Google's agreement runs 25 years.

One of its current minority owners, a power cooperative, "will purchase the remaining portion of the plant's output on the same terms as Google." NextEra Energy says it has signed definitive agreements to acquire that cooperative's interest and another cooperative's, a combined 30%, which "will bring NextEra Energy's ownership to 100%."

The Agreements With Google

The power purchase agreement with Google, the release says, "enables the investment to restart the plant and covers costs for the production of energy from Duane Arnold." And it says "energy customers in Iowa will not bear any costs associated with the power Google purchases from the facility." Restarting the plant, in its words, "will increase generation capacity for the region."

The contract covers the costs of producing energy at the plant. The date that production starts is left to the approvals.

The two companies have also signed, the release says, "an agreement to explore the development of new nuclear generation to be deployed in the U.S." NextEra Energy, the release says, "now has nearly 3 GW of energy projects executed with Google across the country."

The Date and the Approvals

Under its headline, the release says Duane Arnold "is targeted to be fully operational by the first quarter of 2029." In its text, the plant "is expected to be online and delivering electricity onto the grid by the first quarter of 2029, pending regulatory approvals to restart the plant."

The release does not list those approvals. It says NextEra Energy "is working proactively with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other governmental authorities to ensure a safe, timely and compliant return to service," and that the restart "follows a rigorous engineering evaluation, community engagement and close coordination with federal, state and local authorities."

A buyer planning on this power holds the company's target and its expectation for the same quarter, and a condition the release leaves open.

Which approvals stand between Duane Arnold and the first quarter of 2029?