US Department of Energy closes loan for Duane Arnold restart

Duane Arnold, a single-unit boiling water reactor plant owned and operated by NextEra Energy in Linn County, Iowa, was closed down in 2020. Last October, the company announced plans to restart the shuttered plant by early 2029, pending regulatory approvals, underpinned by a 25-year power purchase agreement with Google. The Department of Energy loan will help NextEra Energy return Duane Arnold to service, advancing one of the most significant nuclear restart efforts under way in the US, the company said.

"Restarting Duane Arnold is about delivering new power to meet new demand while generating billions of dollars in economic value for Iowans," said NextEra Energy Chairman, President and CEO John Ketchum. "Just as importantly, it shows how America can support rapid economic growth and rising electricity demand while helping keep power affordable for existing customers. By bringing new generation online to serve new demand, we can strengthen the grid, create hundreds of good-paying jobs and help ensure Iowa families and businesses are not asked to bear the costs of growth."

Restarting the unit will return 615 MWe of baseload power - enough to power nearly 500,000 homes - to the grid, as well as creating nearly 1,500 jobs during construction and supporting more than 450 jobs during operations, according to the Department of Energy.

The restart of the Iowa plant marks another step in advancing the USA's nuclear renaissance, Deputy Secretary of Energy James Danly said. "Returning 615 megawatts of reliable baseload generation will drive down electricity costs, while supporting thousands of American jobs. This Administration is pursuing a comprehensive nuclear strategy, restarting existing reactors, increasing the output of our nuclear fleet, and accelerating new construction, to build the abundant, affordable, and reliable power system required for American prosperity and reindustrialisation."

At the time the plant was taken out of service, it had been licensed to operate until 2034. NextEra is pursuing the restart under a comprehensive regulatory, operational readiness and licensing process, carrying out extensive inspections, engineering evaluations and readiness activities under the oversight of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other federal, state and local agencies. In June, the Iowa Utilities Commission issued a certificate authorising the construction and operation of the plant.