Iowa's Duane Arnold Energy Center is about to be an intersection of atomic power, high-speed computing — and tornadoes. 

That's because Google is working with NextEra Energy to reopen the nuclear plant by 2029 to meet surging data center power demand, an electricity draw that's contributing to higher utility rates. 

Duane Arnold is also located in a part of the country prone to severe windstorms. 

In fact, the site's 12 cooling towers were leveled in 2020 during a derecho, a powerful windstorm that resulted in the plant's shuttering earlier than planned. The storm had 130-mile-per-hour winds, according to Inside Climate News. 

"It wasn't until we went outside afterward that we realized that the cooling towers were gone," station engineer Diana Lokenvitz told the publication. She said that failsafe mechanisms and backup generators worked as planned, ensuring the fission reactions were stopped and disaster was avoided. 

But worsening severe weather is a concern as interest in nuclear energy picks up around the country. Iowa is in Tornado Alley, a swath of states with plenty of twisters. And experts have noted that the danger zone is moving east into more populated areas. 

Part of the reason is higher temperatures triggered by air pollution from burning oil, coal, and gas for energy, according to NASA. That's why nuclear proponents tout its zero pollution and near-limitless production as worthwhile rewards. Almost 20% of U.S. electricity is already generated at nuclear plants, per government data. 

Developers at Duane Arnold are confident in the infrastructure. Federal regulators estimated the 2020 storm had a one-in-1,000 chance of causing core damage because of safeguards, ICN reported.

"They are literally designed to withstand these kinds of events safely," Breakthrough Institute's Adam Stein said. Breakthrough is a nonprofit global research center. 

Watchdogs remain leery about hazardous nuclear waste, accidents, and cost. The Union of Concerned Scientists added security and weapons proliferation to the list. Waste is among the most popularized fears, but the U.S. Department of Energy and other experts maintain it's not as abundant or oozy as most people think — it's in the form of solid radioactive pellets. The U.S. makes enough to fill half an Olympic-size swimming pool annually. 

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As for expense, trade publication NucNet reported that it will cost Google $1.6 billion to reopen the Iowa facility, with a projected $9 billion in economic benefits for the state. It's a huge expense, and part of the reason New York financial advisory firm Lazard has solar and wind as cheaper and faster grid-level energy sources to deploy. 

The generation news has big implications for electricity customers. And knowing more about how Google, Microsoft — which is reopening part of Three Mile Island — and others plan to address their power demand can help you make better choices. Home solar, for example, is a great way to gain energy independence, regardless of grid concerns. 

The optimism in Iowa for Duane Arnold is high, and even for Lokenvitz, who witnessed the storm that closed it.

"That plant operated exactly as designed. It was just the perfect storm," the engineer told ICN.

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