Linn County finalizes rezoning for Duane Arnold nuclear plant

PALO — The Linn County Board of Supervisors this week offered final approval to rezone land around the Duane Arnold Energy Center to allow for future nuclear energy production.

The board Wednesday unanimously approved the third and final reading of the rezoning request from plant owner NextEra Energy to transition nearly 400 acres of land around the plant to a new exclusive use district specific to nuclear power generation.

The 615-megawatt plant first entered service in 1975 and operated continuously in rural Linn County near Palo until its 2020 decommissioning. NextEra now is seeking to restart operations by 2029 in response to growing U.S. power demand amid the rise of artificial intelligence.

To do so, the company must first seek a slew of approvals from local, state and federal regulatory bodies — including the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which is responsible for regulating all commercial nuclear plants in the U.S.

The rezoning approval was a small, but locally significant part of that process.

"Approving the Duane Arnold Energy Center’s rezoning application is a significant step for Linn County,” Linn County Supervisor Brandy Meisheid said. “Restarting this facility responsibly will support local jobs, drive economic growth and provide a reliable energy source for our community.”

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Also Wednesday, NextEra entered into a memorandum of understanding with Linn County and its emergency management agency for the reimbursement of any county-incurred, preoperational emergency management costs related to the restart efforts.

If and when energy production resumes at the plant, NextEra will then be beholden to a host community agreement with the county requiring an annual, inflation-adjusted payment be made to cover the various government functions and public services associated with hosting a nuclear facility.

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