Duane Arnold restart will strengthen our community

As the business manager of IBEW Local 204 here in Linn County, to say our union was excited to hear of NextEra Energy's intention to seek the possible restart of the Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC) in Palo was an understatement.

For years, Duane Arnold provided hundreds of good-paying jobs to skilled contracted union operators, maintenance workers, and electricians, many of whom were represented by Local 204. Now that NextEra has announced its intention to seek the official restart of the plant and enter into a power purchase agreement with Google, we couldn't be more thrilled to support it. The Duane Arnold restart represents not just an investment in clean, stable energy — of which we must continue to produce more of as grid demand increases — but it also represents a renewed commitment to local trades workers and economic growth of our community here in Linn County.

As the plant restarts, many of our members, including former Duane Arnold employees, are excited about the opportunity to work at the plant once again. These jobs aren't short term; they are long term careers that support families, strengthen the middle class, and keep Iowa's young workforce here in Iowa, instead of moving away for bigger and better opportunities.

The restart of Duane Arnold will not only support our local workforce, but it will continue to position Linn County for future success by strengthening our energy capacity and local economy. IBEW 204 looks forward to continuing its support of NextEra Energy and the opportunity to represent its employees once again as it works to make the restart a reality, not just for what it means to our local economy, but for what it means for the working people and future of Linn County.

Jon Van Zante is business manager and financial secretary for IBEW Local 204.