Public meeting planned for Duane Arnold nuclear restart proposal

CEDAR RAPIDS — NextEra Energy officials next week will field questions from Linn County residents on the proposed reopening of the Duane Arnold Energy Center.

The Iowa Utilities Commission will hold a public information meeting on the matter at 6 p.m. Nov. 13 at the Hawkeye Downs Expo Center, 4400 Sixth St. SW in Cedar Rapids. No preregistration is required to attend.

There, officials from NextEra Energy will be joined by Iowa Utilities Commission representatives and staff from the Iowa Office of Consumer Advocate to answer questions and hear public feedback on the proposed restart of the Duane Arnold nuclear energy plant near Palo.

NextEra Energy, which owns the plant, has announced its intent to recommission the plant by 2029, pending regulatory approval from state and federal entities. A portion of that power will go toward supporting data centers for tech giant Google, per a recently announced deal.

The plant closed five years ago as part of a planned decommissioning that was hastened by structural damage sustained during the 2020 derecho. At the time of closure, it employed more than 500 people and had an annual payroll of roughly $85 million.

Plant owners this past winter announced their intent to seek a Duane Arnold restart amid surging demand for power associated in large part with the growth of artificial intelligence, cloud computing and the data centers that support such operations.

The request is currently under consideration by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Comments: grace.nieland@thegazette.com