NextEra Energy is considering restarting the Duane Arnold NPP in Iowa as demand for carbon-free energy in face of a historic surge in electricity consumption. The Duane Arnold Energy Centre in Palo, Iowa was closed in 2020 after 45 years of service. NextEra CEO John Ketchum said, during NextEra’s second-quarter earnings call, that a thorough review of the risks is needed to see if restarting the reactor is feasible.
“There would be opportunities and a lot of demand from the market if we were able to do something with Duane Arnold,” he noted. “We’re looking at it. But we would only do it if we could do it in a way that is essentially risk free with plenty of mitigants around the approach. There are few things we would have to work through.”
The single-unit 615 MWe boiling water reactor plant was scheduled for retirement in late 2020 after a major customer, Alliant Energy, looked to cheaper energy alternatives. The plant ceased operating two months earlier than expected after a powerful windstorm, damaged some parts of the plant, including its cooling towers. All the fuel has been removed from the reactor to an on-site dry storage facility. However, the facility placed into safe storage and the buildings are not scheduled to be demolished for 50 years.
