NextEra considers new nuclear, progresses on restart

On a call with investors this week, NextEra announced that it is considering new nuclear development at its existing sites, as well as projects at greenfield sites.

As the company eyes new development, work on the restart of Duane Arnold hit another milestone this month, with Linn County approving the project's rezoning application.

New development: On the Tuesday call, NextEra explained that it is considering an expansion of its nuclear fleet in order to serve data center electricity needs. At existing sites, NextEra said it could add as much as 6 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity to serve data centers. New sites are also under consideration for nuclear projects.

In December, the company released a string of announcements related to the AI and data center industries. At the time, NextEra reiterated that it was committed to an all-of-the-above strategy of building renewables, gas, and nuclear over the next decade. With this newest press release, it is clear that new nuclear-whether it comes in the form of restarts, uprates, or entirely new facilities-remains a significant portion of the company's development plans.

Restart progress: In October 2025, NextEra officially announced its plans to restart Iowa's only nuclear power plant-Duane Arnold, which was shuttered in 2020. The work to restart the 621.9-MWe boiling water reactor is being supported by a power purchase agreement from Google.

The company has targeted 2029 for the restart, and updates in recent months from the company and Linn County (where the site is located) signal that plans are moving ahead.

Earlier this month, the Linn County Board of Supervisors announced that the county and NextEra had entered into a host community agreement that puts "residents and public safety first by ensuring that any project-related financial impacts to the county fall on the nuclear energy company, not taxpayers."

About a week later, the Board voted unanimously to approve the project's rezoning application, marking land previously designated for agricultural use as exclusively usable for nuclear power generation facilities.

Linn County District 2 Supervisor Sami Scheetz said, "This project shows that Linn County can support major economic development while still standing up for our residents. With strong zoning protections, hundreds of permanent union jobs, and a host community agreement that ensures the company-not taxpayers-covers the real costs of this project, the County has struck the right balance for our community's future."