LINN COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) – After four years of being inactive, the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant near Palo could start generating energy again.
The plant’s owner, NextEra Energy said in an earnings call it might recommission the plant. The plant stopped making power in 2020 after suffering damage from the derecho.
There’s a simple reason why the owners of the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant say it could produce energy again. It’s the potential for a big increase in demand. Thanks, in part, to new data technology businesses coming to the Cedar Rapids area.
“We are very busy looking at Duane Arnold. We’re very interested in recommissioning the plant,” said NextEra Energy CEO John Ketchum.
Ketchum said the company is meeting with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and doing engineering assessments with the hope the plant could begin generating power once again.
Since Duane Arnold closed four years ago, two data centers that require big increases in power have started the planning process of being built in Cedar Rapids.
“It goes without saying, there is very strong interest from customers, really data center customers in particular,” Ketchum said.
NextEra’s announcement follows a nationwide trend of plans to recommission some nuclear power plants. Since NextEra decommissioned Duane Arnold after the 2020 derecho, demand has changed greatly.
“We’re in a period of substantial power demand in this industry,” Ketchum said.
Palo’s Mayor welcomes the news.
Mayor Eric Van Kerckhove said in a statement to TV9, “We lost a lot of good paying jobs when the plant closed a few years ago and the idea of regaining those opportunities has our community in a very optimistic mood for sure.”
NextEra didn’t have an exact timeline or an estimated cost of the project during the earnings call.
John Ketchum also said there are only a few nuclear plants in the nation that can be recommissioned in an economic way, and Duane Arnold is one of them.
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