DOE backs a $1.9B nuclear restart for AI power

NextEra Energy secured up to a $1.9 billion Department of Energy loan to restart Iowa’s 615-MW Duane Arnold nuclear plant, with operations targeted for 2029, according to the DOE’s financial-close announcement. Google’s reported plan to build up to six data centers near the site turns the restart into an AI-infrastructure bet, not only a power-plant rescue, as TechCrunch reports. Builders should file the number as a reminder that new AI capacity now competes for firm electricity years before a model launch. Teams pricing regional compute can compare Naver’s 200MW AI-factory capital envelope against this 615-MW restart: generation access is becoming part of model capacity planning.