5 Shuttered Power Plants Making a Comeback—Thanks to AI
Across the country, shuttered plants once written off are being reimagined as digital lifelines—wired for the AI age.
As tech companies chase reliable, round-the-clock electricity, many of the nation’s retired power plants are getting a second life. Once written off as stranded assets, these sites are suddenly in high demand. From nuclear stations in Iowa to coal plants in Pennsylvania, shuttered facilities are being revived to power the digital economy—prized for their existing grid connections, water access, and transmission infrastructure.
Here are five plants showing how yesterday’s infrastructure is being wired for tomorrow’s intelligence.
1. Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant (Iowa)
Shuttered in 2020 after storm damage and years of dwindling economics, Iowa’s only nuclear facility was on track for dismantling. Fast forward: NextEra Energy has secured approvals to restart the reactor, driven by demand from AI and cloud customers. With grid connections and cooling water already in place, the plant could be back online by 2028—serving a new class of digital customers.
2. Homer City Coal Plant (Pennsylvania)
Once one of the largest coal-fired plants in the U.S., Homer City closed in 2023 under financial and environmental pressure. Now, the site is slated for a $10 billion transformation: natural gas turbines paired with a sprawling AI-focused data center campus.
The combined power infrastructure and data centers mark the largest capital investment in Pennsylvania’s history.
Developers say it could deliver up to 4.5 GW of power—enough to keep millions of homes, or millions of GPUs, running.
3. Widows Creek Coal Plant (Alabama)
Google announced in 2015 that it would invest $600 million to transform the retired Widows Creek coal plant in Jackson County into a state-of-the-art data center. Powered for decades by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the coal facility was decommissioned and reimagined as a technology park. By 2018, the site was fully converted, with Google repurposing the plant’s existing electrical infrastructure to deliver renewable energy to the data center.
4. Moss Landing Power Plant (California)
Once the world’s largest gas-fired power plant, Moss Landing has become ground zero for California’s battery boom. The site now hosts two of the biggest grid batteries in the country, designed to store solar power and free up supply for Silicon Valley’s digital demands.
The transition hasn’t been seamless: A fire at Vistra’s facility in January 2025 forced mass evacuations, and PG&E’s neighboring Elkhorn battery has faced delays returning to service after coolant leaks were discovered during restart.
The incidents have rattled local trust and sparked new state safety reforms, even as California barrels ahead with record-breaking storage buildouts. Moss Landing stands as both a proving ground and a cautionary tale for the infrastructure powering AI’s future.
5. Indian Point Nuclear Plant (New York)
Closed in 2021 after decades of controversy, this Hudson River facility remains under decommissioning. Developers have floated proposals to reuse its grid connections and prime location near New York City for a potential data center hub, and state lawmakers are even studying whether advanced nuclear could someday return to the site.
Indian Point isn’t coming back online—but it shows how shuttered plants, even in retirement, are being pulled back into the conversation as AI drives demand for reliable power.
The Bottom Line
The AI boom is breathing new life into energy relics, but not without trade-offs. Restarting or repurposing old plants keeps data flowing and lights on, yet it raises questions about climate goals, community impacts, and who ultimately benefits.
While these projects generate construction jobs and inject new investment into cities, permanent staffing is lean compared to the coal and nuclear workforces they replace.
That tension—economic promise against modest long-term gains—will shape how welcome these digital revivals feel on the ground.