Google, NextEra expand collaboration to develop nuclear-powered gigawatt AI campuses

The initial three campuses under this new accord are now in the active development phase.

Interesting Engineering ByAman Tripathi, Dec 13, 2025

NextEra Energy and Google Cloud announced a significant expansion of their ongoing collaboration, creating a partnership designed to develop multiple gigawatt (GW)-scale data center campuses across the United States………………………………………………………………………………………………..

This collaborative effort focuses on accelerating the deployment of data centers by systematically addressing critical infrastructure hurdles.

These challenges include land acquisition, managing load interconnection, and the simultaneous development of supporting power generation resources needed to sustain large-scale artificial intelligence operations.A central component of this energy strategy involves the revitalization of nuclear power capabilities to support the electrical grid.

“Most recently, the companies announced the restart of the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa followed by two new long-term power purchase agreements to add 600 megawatts of clean energy capacity to Oklahoma’s electricity grid to support Google’s technology infrastructure,” noted a press release.

To facilitate this restart, NextEra Energy has formally requested that the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) restore grid connection rights for the shuttered facility.

This regulatory filing seeks to reclaim interconnection rights that had previously been transferred from the nuclear plant to a planned solar energy project at the same site.

The move follows a licensing change request that NextEra filed with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in January, marking a distinct shift from solar back to nuclear baseload power to meet steady demand.

Digital transformation of operations

Beyond the construction of physical infrastructure, the partnership will implement a digital transformation of NextEra Energy’s operations using Google Cloud’s artificial intelligence tools. ,…………………………………………………………

NextEra Energy Chairman and CEO John Ketchum characterized the partnership as a reflection of the current moment where the energy and technology sectors are becoming increasingly intertwined. He noted that the joint effort intends to build infrastructure at scale and change how energy companies function.

Similarly, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian stated that combining NextEra’s domain expertise with Google’s AI infrastructure is necessary to support the digital future of energy infrastructure and meet the rising demand for AI technologies. https://interestingengineering.com/energy/nuclear-powered-gigawatt-ai-campuses-google