Nuclear plant revival over solar project shift in U.S.
The Duane Arnold Energy Center, Iowa's only nuclear facility, is making strides towards a potential restart, as announced by NextEra Energy. The company aims to resume operations by the end of 2028, following a shutdown in 2020 due to severe storm damage.
The plant, which has been idled and placed in decommissioning status, remains licensed to operate until 2034. All spent nuclear fuel has been securely stored in an on-site dry storage facility, and major systems have been drained and de-energized. Administrative and training buildings, as well as damaged cooling towers, have been removed.
NextEra has been actively pursuing the plant’s restart, with plans to submit an environmental review document by October 2025 as part of the restart licensing process. The company submitted a regulatory path overview in January 2025 and has been providing progress updates to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Planned restart activities include restoring the plant to its previous operating license condition, installing new cooling towers, restoring transmission lines, building new offices and warehouses, upgrading the sewage treatment system, and dredging the plant’s water intake from the Cedar River.
This push to restart Duane Arnold is part of a larger national trend to reconsider previously closed nuclear power plants amid rising electricity demand. Industry-wide trends show increasing interest in restarting recently shut U.S. nuclear plants, with NextEra's steps at Duane Arnold mirroring moves at other plants like Palisades and Three Mile Island.
If successful, the Duane Arnold Energy Center would be one of three closed U.S. plants moving towards a restart. The company is currently conducting a comprehensive engineering evaluation of the entire site before any restart decision can be made.
The plant's operational life was cut short two months earlier due to a powerful derecho windstorm in August 2020 that caused significant damage to the plant's cooling towers. The facility was placed into SAFSTOR, a deferred decommissioning process where buildings are maintained in a safe state for up to 50 years to allow for residual radioactivity to decay before final demolition.
NextEra Energy filed a licensing change request with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in January 2021 to explore a restart of the Duane Arnold Energy Center. The filing was also made with the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
The request to revive Duane Arnold signals a shift in strategy for the plant's future, prioritizing the revival of nuclear power over new solar development at the location. NextEra Energy had previously planned to develop solar power on the land where the Duane Arnold Energy Center was located.
An initial engineering assessment found the reactor to be in good condition, suggesting the entire plant could potentially be restored to operation by late 2028. The Duane Arnold Energy Center, a single-unit 615 MWe boiling water reactor, is located about nine miles northwest of Cedar Rapids.
This news marks an exciting development in the energy sector, as the Duane Arnold Energy Center could contribute significantly to the nation's push for carbon-free energy sources.
- The push for restarting Duane Arnold Energy Center, which houses a single-unit 616 MWe boiling water reactor, aligns with a broader industry trend that aims to revive previously shut nuclear power plants, such as Palisades and Three Mile Island, due to rising electricity demand.
- To facilitate the potential restart, NextEra Energy is conducting a comprehensive engineering evaluation of the entire site, planning to submit an environmental review document by October 2025 for the restart licensing process, and exploring technological innovations, like installing new cooling towers, upgrading sewage treatment systems, and dredging the water intake.
- The revival of Duane Arnold carries the potential to boost the science and robotics sectors, as well as finance and energy industries, by providing a significant contribution toward carbon-free energy sources and serving as a testament to industry-wide resilience and adaptability.
