The U.S. Department of Energy has closed a loan of up to $1.9 billion to help restart the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa, the state's only nuclear power plant. The money comes from the Office of Energy Dominance Financing.
The plant in Palo, Iowa, shut down in August 2020 after a derecho, a line of storms with winds up to 140 mph, damaged its cooling towers. Owner NextEra Energy aims to bring it back online in 2029, pending approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The plant began generating power in 1974 and can produce 615 megawatts, enough for roughly 500,000 homes.
A first-of-its-kind restart
No U.S. company has ever restarted a commercial reactor that was shut down for good. Duane Arnold is one of three major restart efforts now underway across the country, and its backers say it will test whether a closed plant can be safely brought back to life.
The restart is tied to surging electricity demand. Google signed a 25-year agreement in 2025 to buy power from the plant for its Iowa data centers, and Central Iowa Power Cooperative will take about 50 megawatts of the remaining output.
Why restart instead of build new
Supporters say restarting an existing plant is cheaper and faster than building a new one, and it adds carbon-free power to the grid without new transmission lines. Governor Kim Reynolds said the loan shows federal backing for the restart and for future nuclear development in the state.
Deputy Energy Secretary James Danly called the restart another step in advancing what he described as America's nuclear renaissance. The NRC must still sign off, and the company must show the reactor systems are sound after six years of layup. If the restart succeeds, Duane Arnold could become a template for other shuttered plants.