NextEra Energy clears major step toward restarting Duane Arnold nuclear plant

NextEra Energy is inching closer to restarting its shuttered nuclear power plant, Duane Arnold Energy Center, near Palo.

The company successfully lifted the plant’s 200-ton rotor — the part of a generator that creates electricity — out of the facility to be refurbished. It’s the first time since 2012 that the rotor has been removed.

NextEra said removing the rotor is an “essential” step in the plant’s recommissioning and took about two months to complete.

The work comes as NextEra is seeking approval from federal, state and local entities to restart the plant’s operations by early 2029 to help meet growing U.S. energy demand.

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Bill Orlove, spokesperson for the Duane Arnold Energy Center, said the next step in restarting the plant is for the Linn County Board of Supervisors to approve a rezoning recommendation from the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission.

The first reading is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 5.

The rotor was removed from the plant on Friday, Dec. 19, and left via railroad from the plant near Palo, to energy equipment manufacturing company GE Vernova in Schenectady, New York.

“This work is one of the many steps we need to take to get Duane Arnold back online by the beginning of 2029,” said Justin Both, Duane Arnold construction director. “The company has a dedicated team of employees as well as vendor partners like GE Vernova following safe, rigorous processes to ensure the operational readiness of the facility.”

Olivia Cohen covers energy and environment for The Gazette and is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.

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Comments: olivia.cohen@thegazette.com