20-year license extension approved for Duane Arnold Energy Center

A 20-year license extension for the Duane Arnold Energy Center has been approved  over objections from some Iowa environmental groups.

The extension was approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after a 26-month review that concluded there were no environmental impacts that would preclude renewal of the license for environmental reasons.

The plant north of Palo generates enough power to supply 600,000 homes and employs 600. It would have been forced to close in 2014 had the license not been extended by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

“This is an important milestone for employees at Duane Arnold,” plant spokeswoman Renee Nelson said. “Our employees were excited when we filed for license extension back in 2008 and this brings that effort to a a conclusion.”

Sierra Club of Iowa Attorney Wallace Taylor of Cedar Rapids said he is strongly considering legal action to block the extension after reviewing comments submitted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

“I think the EPA comments give us some strong support,” Taylor said.

The Sierra Club's concerns included plant safety, water resource issues with the Cedar River and Pleasant Creek, on-site storage of spent nuclear fuel rods. Taylor said he was glad that the EPA shared his concerns about the scope of the review, believing it should have looked at whether there were more efficient and environmentally sound options to continuing to operate the plant for 20 years.

Florida-based NextEra Energy acquired the 70 percent majority stake in the plant from Alliant Energy when Alliant decided it didn't want to go through the license extension process several years ago. The extension was a four-year process that cost $20 million.

Nelson said the license renewal process included extensive inspections of  plant equipment and replacement of equipment when needed.

“This doesn't mean we will relax oour standards for safety and equipment reliability going forward,” Nelson said.

The generating capacity of the boiling water reactor-powered generating station has been increased by 50 megawatts since it was placed in service in 1974.

Duane Arnold Energy Center is Iowa's only nuclear power plant.