NextEra is seeking the Iowa Utility Commission’s (IUC) approval to recommission the 615-megawatt Duane Arnold Energy Center in Palo, with hopes of breaking ground sometime in 2026.
The proposal includes waivers that would allow for some early construction work on parts of the plant that do not generate electricity before final IUC approval is granted in order to meet project deadlines, according to a spokesperson for the company.
Last month, NextEra announced an agreement to supply Google with the majority of the power generated at the plant over 25 years. Google has been eyeing land for a new data center in unincorporated Linn County, though no formal announcements have been made. Google is currently building another data center in southwest Cedar Rapids.
The county is drafting a data center ordinance and is awaiting results from a water balance study that will determine whether the county’s water supply can support another data center. Linn County officials hope to have results back by next spring.
At a public meeting in southwest Cedar Rapids Thursday, officials from NextEra and the Iowa Utilities Commission discussed plans for the proposed recommissioning of the Duane Arnold plant.
“Because the site operated for about 45 years, we only need to do minimal new ground disturbances to recommission the project,” said NextEra Energy Resources Executive Director Josh Marcum. “We don’t anticipate any agricultural, endangered species or cultural resource impacts through the project.”
The nuclear plant was decommissioned in August 2020. It was originally planned to shut down in October of that year, but the derecho damaged some of the plant's cooling towers, forcing it to shut down early.
Environmental leaders raise concerns over nuclear development
Some environmental advocates have warned of potential corrosion within the reactor’s components since the plant’s decommissioning.
“Not putting the plant in layup means that structures and components in the Duane Arnold plant have been allowed to corrode and fall into disrepair, which is a recipe for disaster,” said Wally Taylor, legal chair of the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, in a September press conference.
But an environmental impact statement from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission filed in response to NextEra’s request to renew the plant’s operating license for 20 years after its expiration in 2034 said the potential adverse environmental impacts are not great enough to deny the company’s option to renew its license.
“Since that time, the power block structure and the equipment within the power block have been in dormancy and maintained and are in excellent shape,” Mike Davis, a licensing manager with NextEra, said during Thursday’s IUC meeting.
NextEra plans to rebuild the cooling towers and other parts of the plant that have been demolished, including the site training center. If the utility receives approval from the IUC, it aims to begin site preparation and construction in early 2026.
“The recommissioning project will have significant positive economic impacts on the local, state and national economies, with the expected economic impact of about $8 billion in Linn County, $9 billion for the state of Iowa and $16 billion for the entire nation,” Marcum, with NextEra, said.
NextEra estimates the site would add 400 direct, full-time jobs.
Public seeks answers on potential environmental impacts and the Google deal
The NextEra representatives declined to offer answers to some questions from members of the public about potential increases in residential consumer utility rates, how the cost of recommissioning compares with building solar or gas plants and cost details about the agreement with Google.
Others asked about the plant’s water usage and what it would mean for the area’s water supply if the tech giant were to build a data center nearby.
“How much additional water is this plant going to use, where is it going to come from and what will be the impact?” Rich Patterson, a resident of Cedar Rapids, asked.
“The plant will use the same amount of water that it did during its 45 years of operation,” answered Davis, with NextEra. “It withdraws water from the Cedar River, and that is to make up for what is evaporated as part of the process of generating electricity.”
Unsatisfied, Patterson returned to the microphone.
“[If] Google comes with their data center, taking an enormous amount of water, you’re going to go again taking water from the river. We have droughts,” he said. “I remember 1988, you know, there will be droughts. We are going to want to drink water and make coffee and take showers.”
Pam Mackey Taylor, director of the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, said the plant’s existing radioactive waste storage canisters emit radioactive material into the air and groundwater.
“Cancer data shows that cancer rates increased around Duane Arnold during its operation compared to the cancer rates before it commenced operation and five years after it shut down,” Mackey Taylor said. “Iowa law clearly supports the transition to renewable energy, like wind and solar, but starting Duane Arnold would take us backward.”
Mackey Taylor said nuclear is not a form of clean or renewable energy because it relies on supplies of uranium, which is mined and used during nuclear fission.
Local leaders say they support reopening Duane Arnold
Others, including Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell, were more excited about the prospect of Duane Arnold’s recommissioning.
“Here in Linn County, we’ll see the benefits firsthand from new residents and families putting down roots, to local businesses, restaurants and service providers thriving with increased demand,” O’Donnell said. “The plant will also contribute millions in local tax revenue, helping to strengthen our schools, infrastructure and rural and urban resident services."
Ron Corbett, vice president of economic development at the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, said his organization also supports the project.
“The restart of this is so important in helping to build our power grid for the future, and certainly the announcement with Google is another exciting project and opportunity for our community,” Corbett said.
Ryan Ask is a carpenter currently building scaffolding at the Duane Arnold Energy Center used by millwrights to do maintenance on the turbine deck. He said he sees nuclear as a safe and clean power source — a perspective that changed for him after he performed routine maintenance on nuclear plants around the country as part of what is informally known as the “nuke circuit.”
“You do the work for the outage, the routine maintenance, and then you go to the next one,” Ask said. “And just being in the environment, you learn a lot about how safe it is. It’s pretty wild how safe nuclear has become, because it’s so 'by the books.' And I think that changed my mind a lot.”
Ask said he's more concerned about the water use associated with operating a data center — if Google were to set up shop nearby, for example — than the environmental impacts of operating the proposed nuclear plant alone.
“I’m glad Duane Arnold is opening up again,” he said. “It just sucks that it’s for a data center.”
