OREANDA-NEWS Google, part of Alphabet Inc., and NextEra Energy have reached an agreement to restart a nuclear power plant in Iowa that was shut down five years ago, the American companies said.

The Dwayne-Arnold nuclear power plant, located near the city of Cedar Rapids, is scheduled to resume operations in early 2029. The restart is backed by Google's 25-year agreement to purchase electricity from this plant, which has a capacity of 615 MW.

The rest of the electricity will be purchased by the Central Iowa Power Cooperative on the same terms as Google.

"The relaunch of Dwayne-Arnold marks an important milestone for NextEra Energy," said John Ketchum, the company's chief executive Officer. "Our partnership with Google not only brings nuclear power back to Iowa, but also accelerates the development of next-generation nuclear technologies."

"This partnership serves as a model for the investments needed across the country to build energy capacity and provide reliable, clean energy, while maintaining accessibility and creating jobs that will boost the AI-powered economy," said Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google.

Dwayne Arnold, the only nuclear power plant in Iowa, was shut down in 2020 after 45 years of operation.

NextEra also announced that it has signed an agreement to purchase a 30% stake in the nuclear power plant from Central Iowa Power Cooperative and Corn Belt Power Cooperative, bringing the company's stake to 100%.

As reported, at the end of September, Constellation Energy Corp. announced a plan to restart the first reactor of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania to supply electricity to Microsoft Corp. as part of a 20-year agreement between the companies.