Data center’s power needs warrant reopening Duane Arnold Nuclear Center

Google is behind a potential new $576 million data center in Cedar Rapids’ Big Cedar Industrial Center. It will be on an 890-acre certified portion of the overall Big Cedar which is controlled by Alliant Energy. How will Alliant supply this new, significant power load on top of its current customer demand?

Alliant says that at this time, they need to purchase about one-fourth of the power they supply to their customers. A recent article from Bloomberg says that NextEra is considering restarting Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC) due to the energy demands of proposed massive data centers.

In terms of total energy production, the 600 MW DAEC produced was the equivalent of a 2,400 MW solar farm or a 1,800 MW wind farm. In terms of reliability, DAEC generated electricity 24-7-365 in all weather. Solar farms only produce electricity when the sun shines. Wind farms only generate electricity when the wind blows. It is not possible to add enough battery storage to make a solar farm or a wind farm as reliable as DAEC was. It is not possible to predict the duration of time whenever weather is below the design basis conditions for solar or wind generation. The backup battery storage also needs an energy source to charge it and keep it charged.

Bottom line: If Cedar Rapids and Alliant Energy are serious about supplying reliable energy to a large data center and the rest of us current customers, they need NextEra to restart DAEC.

Chet Sullivan

Marion