DOE Closes $1.9 Billion Loan for NextEra's Iowa Nuclear Restart
Federal financing locks in Google's anchor contract at the shuttered Duane Arnold plant, the third closed U.S. nuclear station attempting a comeback with federal backing.
The U.S. Department of Energy finalized a $1.9 billion loan to NextEra Energy on Tuesday (2026-09-08) to fund the restart of the 615-megawatt Duane Arnold Energy Center in Linn County, Iowa, the agency announced. The plant closed in 2020 and remains Iowa's only nuclear facility.4,5,6,7
Google will be the primary offtaker from a revived Duane Arnold, using the output to support its data center operations, Utility Dive reported. Google inked the offtake arrangement last October (2025), Canary Media noted. The plant could begin generating electricity by early 2029, though that depends on regulatory approvals not yet obtained.4,3,5
Duane Arnold is the third shuttered U.S. nuclear plant attempting a restart with federal support. The DOE loan flows through the Trump administration's Office of Energy Dominance Financing program, and follows a string of large commitments under that facility this year.5,6
The Duane Arnold loan is not the EDF program's largest commitment by some distance. AEP Texas closed a $3.26 billion EDF loan in July 2026 for roughly 100 transmission projects across the state, with projected savings of $685 million for more than one million homes and businesses over 30 years, the DOE said. Earlier in 2026, Southern Company's Alabama Power and Georgia Power secured $26.54 billion in EDF loans — around $22.42 billion for Georgia and $4.09 billion for Alabama — with Southern projecting $7 billion in customer savings for 4.3 million customers.1,2
President Trump's executive order sets a target of 400 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2050, alongside 5 GW of power uprates and 10 large new reactors by 2030. Duane Arnold's 615 MW, if it returns to service, contributes to those nearer-term targets. Getting from loan close to first generation by 2029 requires the NRC to approve a restart license for a plant that has been offline for six years.6,3
The uranium supply picture complicates the expansion arithmetic. U.S. nuclear plants consumed roughly 19,000 tonnes of uranium in 2026 while domestic mines produced just 260 tonnes, according to the World Nuclear Association. Canada supplied 32% of U.S. uranium in 2025, Kazakhstan 28%, and Australia 15%; U.S.-sourced material covered just 7% of total supply. The WNA noted that domestic uranium mining has declined since a 1980 peak and now supplies around 5% of annual demand.6
The DOE loan closes financing for a restart. It does not address fuel procurement for a plant that will need uranium contracts well before a projected 2029 startup. An expansion toward the administration's 400 GWe target by 2050 implies a sustained increase in import demand from the same small group of foreign suppliers that already dominate the existing fleet's fuel supply.6
The URA uranium ETF closed Friday (2026-09-11) at $43.53, down 3.25%, even as nuclear expansion announcements accumulated through the week. The equity market's response did not treat the federal loan closure as a catalyst for uranium demand.
The NRC's handling of NextEra's restart application for Duane Arnold will be the first public stress test of the administration's nuclear acceleration plan. Two other shuttered plants are in the restart queue behind it. How the agency processes a license for a plant that has been closed six years will set the pace for all of them.3,5