NextEra Energy Resources is moving forward with plans to recommission the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Palo, Iowa, with a potential restart date targeted for the end of 2028.
The Florida-based clean energy company revealed this initiative during its Q4 and full-year 2024 earnings report on 24 January 2025.
As part of this effort, NextEra Energy Resources has submitted a licensing change request to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). This filing represents an important step in re-establishing the regulatory framework necessary to restore the plant’s operating licence, which has remained inactive since its closure in 2020.
The Duane Arnold Energy Center, a 615MWe boiling water reactor commissioned in 1974, ceased operations in August 2020. The closure came after a derecho, a high-wind storm, damaged non-safety-related structures, including the plant’s cooling towers.
The shutdown was earlier than planned, as the facility was already slated for retirement in late 2020 following the conclusion of a power purchase agreement with Alliant Energy.
Following the closure, all spent nuclear fuel was removed from the reactor and transferred to a dry cask storage facility on-site.
In April 2020, NextEra Energy Resources submitted a Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) to the NRC. In this, the company outlined plans to place the facility into SAFSTOR, a strategy where the plant will remain in monitored, safe storage until full decommissioning begins in 2075.
By April 2022, all fuel had been transferred to the site’s independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI).
NextEra Energy Resources CEO John Ketchum stated in July 2024 that the company is conducting a detailed review to determine the feasibility of restarting the Duane Arnold Energy Center. This review is driven by rising electricity demand and the need for carbon-free energy solutions.
Located approximately 14km northwest of Cedar Rapids the Duane Arnold Energy Center holds an NRC licence to operate until February 2034. However, its early retirement was agreed upon in 2018 when NextEra Energy Resources and Alliant Energy decided to shorten their power purchase agreement.
Public consultations on decommissioning were conducted in 2021 through in-person and virtual meetings, ensuring community involvement in the process.
