NextEra gets $1.9B federal loan to restart Duane Arnold

NextEra Energy disclosed that it secured a $1.90 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to restart the Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Iowa. The facility is targeted to return to service in early 2029, subject to regulatory approvals.

The restart project is backed by a 25-year power purchase agreement with Google. The federal support aligns NextEra with expanding electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence and hyperscale data centers, deepening its long-term commercial ties with major technology customers.

The agreement connects with NextEra's broader collaboration with Google around gigawatt-scale data centers and specialized clean power solutions. Analysts tracking the company had already projected revenue could reach roughly $45.2 billion and earnings could hit $11.6 billion by 2029, alongside ongoing market attention to hurricane exposure in Florida, interest costs, and renewable energy policies.