Up to $4.4 billion in federal loans to restart three US nuclear power stations to supply data centres

Palisades, Three Mile Island and Duane Arnold are set to supply 2.25 GW to the grid, with Microsoft and Google as customers. Critics have raised concerns about the safety of reactors designed in the 1970s.

The U.S. Department of Energy is committing up to $4.4 billion in loans to recommission three closed power plants: Palisades in Michigan, the Crane Clean Energy Center unit on Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, and Duane Arnold in Iowa. Between them, they must return 2.25 gigawatts, enough to power about two million homes and businesses, electricity largely intended for the growing demand for AI.

Constellation has obtained $1 billion for Three Mile Island, whose reactor is to power Microsoft under a 20-year contract starting in 2027. NextEra has landed $1.9 billion for Duane Arnold, which is due to restart in early 2029 for the benefit of Google. Palisades, the most advanced, began loading its fuel in August and is expected to be operational by March 2027.

Low-carbon electricity, but reserves

These restarts provide controllable production without direct CO₂ emissions where data centers often push for the extension of gas. Criticism focuses mainly on the safety of facilities designed between 1970 and 1990 in the face of more intense climatic disasters, while the Heritage Foundation considers public money superfluous given market demand.