U.S. is reviving shuttered nuclear plants to meet growing electricity demand and to power data centers
The federal government is providing billions in loans to help restart three shuttered nuclear plants in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Iowa, partly to meet rising electricity demand from data centers. Google and Microsoft have signed agreements tied to two of the plants, while experts debate the safety and necessity of using taxpayer funds for the projects.
The U.S. Department of Energy is backing efforts to restart the Palisades plant in Michigan, the Crane Clean Energy Center at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania and the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa. Together, the facilities could restore about 2.25 gigawatts of generation, with the projects supported by as much as $4.4 billion in federal loans. The plants closed after becoming uneconomical or suffering damage, but rising demand from artificial intelligence and data centers has improved the economics of nuclear power.
NextEra Energy is working with Google to restart Duane Arnold by early 2029, while Microsoft has a 20-year power agreement with Constellation Energy for the Three Mile Island reactor, which is expected to return to service in 2027. Holtec International is pursuing the Palisades restart, though it paused fuel loading after a fuel assembly shifted. Supporters say the projects can quickly provide carbon-free power, while nuclear safety advocates and other critics question whether federal money should fund the restarts and argue that plants must be upgraded to address modern climate-related risks.