The decommissioned Duane Arnold nuclear plant in eastern Iowa is inching closer to a restart as NextEra Energy has asked for a licensing change for the facility.
A representative for the renewable energy company confirmed to Bloomberg that it filed a request with federal regulators from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday, marking the first step toward bringing the plant back online.
In an earnings release issued Friday, NextEra reiterated its interest in restarting Duane Arnold, saying the company is “continuing to make progress in evaluating the recommissioning” of the plant.
NextEra also noted that it hopes to restore the facility’s operating license to restart operations as early as the end of 2028.
The Duane Arnold nuclear plant, just 8 miles northwest of Cedar Rapids, opened in February 1975. The 600-megawatt plant shut down in 2020 after one of its major customers ended its power purchase agreement. It had been licensed to operate until 2034.
Interest in restarting the plant first began to circulate last summer, when NextEra CEO John Ketchum said he would consider doing so if a restart would be executed “safely and on budget.”
The company has yet to reveal how much it would cost to bring Duane Arnold back online. However, executives have said that the decades-old facility uses less complex components and technology, making it cheaper to repair than others.
If the licensing application is accepted by the NRC, it would make Duane Arnold the third retired nuclear plant in the United States seeking a restart. As of January, there are no decommissioned plants in the U.S. that have ever come back online.
That is expected to change, as the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan awaits final approval from the NRC, which may come as soon as the end of July. Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania is also seeking approval to restart by 2028.
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NextEra has not revealed who its primary customers would be if the 600-megawatt facility successfully restarts. Ketchum previously told investors that many, including data center customers, are interested in purchasing the power.
Soaring energy demand from data centers, electrification, large-load manufacturing, and artificial intelligence advancements have primarily driven the renewed interest in nuclear energy within the last year, with Big Tech driving large investments.