Google's Iowa Data Center Expansion Drives Revival of Storm-Damaged Nuclear Plant
December 6, 2025
The quest for reliable, carbon-free power is reshaping the energy landscape for major technology companies. In a significant move that underscores the critical intersection of digital infrastructure and clean energy, Google is partnering to resurrect a nuclear power plant in Iowa, a state increasingly prone to destructive tornadoes and severe storms. This initiative highlights the tech industry's growing demand for "always-on" clean energy to power its vast and expanding data center operations.
The Duane Arnold Energy Center, Iowa's only nuclear power plant, was forced into an emergency shutdown in August 2020 when a derecho—a widespread, long-lived windstorm—with 130-mile-per-hour winds severed all external power lines and toppled its twelve massive cooling towers. Although the plant was already scheduled for decommissioning later that year and was not repaired, a federal analysis later classified the incident as a significant safety event, estimating a one-in-1,000 chance of damage to the nuclear core during the storm.
Now, the dormant facility is slated for a 2029 reopening, driven by a power purchasing agreement between its Florida-based owner, NextEra Energy, and Google. The tech giant is expanding its data center footprint in Iowa, with a campus under construction near Cedar Rapids, roughly 12 miles from the plant. Google has agreed to help fund the recommissioning and will purchase the bulk of the plant’s output for 25 years. The plant is expected to provide over 600 megawatts of carbon-free electricity to the regional grid. The companies have also agreed to explore developing new nuclear generation in the U.S.
The decision to reopen comes as Iowa faces a heightened threat from extreme weather. Climate change, driven by warming Gulf waters, is increasing the frequency and severity of storms. In 2024 alone, the state set a record with 155 tornadoes. NextEra plans to enhance the plant's resilience with design improvements, including additional backup diesel generators and cooling towers built to a higher wind resistance threshold. "We do look at those events and try to garner lessons learned and ask, what could make the plant even safer than it is?" said NextEra consultant Michael Davis at a recent public meeting.
Industry experts note that despite the severity of the 2020 storm, the plant's safety systems performed as designed, preventing any danger to the public. "This was one of the most significant safety events in U.S. nuclear history and yet it was not significantly dangerous to the public," said Adam Stein of the Breakthrough Institute. "That speaks to the robustness of these plants." He added that nuclear facilities are engineered to withstand extreme hazards, including "tornado missiles."
The partnership signals a strategic shift where large energy consumers like Google are directly investing in firm, clean power generation to meet their sustainability goals and ensure operational reliability, potentially paving the way for more private-sector involvement in the nuclear energy sector.
Source: insideclimatenews
