Duane Arnold restart by NextEra Energy: status and timeline

Duane Arnold restart

Return about 615 MW of round-the-clock, carbon-free power to the Midwest grid years faster than any new reactor could be built.

PilotStage 3 of 5

$1.9B federal loan closed Sep 2026; NRC decisions possible from Jan 2028; restart targeted for Q1 2029.

Updated 8 Sep 2026Checked 11 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · NRC licensing decisions

Plant shuts after derecho flattens its cooling towers10 Aug 2020Complete.
Licensing request filed with NRC to restore operations29 Jan 2025Complete.
Google 25-year power deal; NextEra to own 100%27 Oct 2025Complete.
NRC draft finding of no significant environmental impact4 Aug 2026Complete.
DOE closes $1.9B restart loan8 Sep 2026Complete.
NRC licensing decisionsTarget Jan 2028Current milestone.
Reactor back on the gridTarget Q1 2029+3 mo~~originally Q4 2028~~Not yet reached.

Most important updates

Upcoming

Q4 2026NRC final environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact (next)
Jan 2028NRC licensing decisions
Q1 2029Reactor back on the grid+3 mo~~originally Q4 2028~~
Q1 2029Duane Arnold returns to service

Current obstacles

NRC approvals still pendingThree licence amendments and a final environmental finding need NRC approval; licences could come by January 2028, then the plant must be refuelled.
Rebuilding after six idle yearsCooling towers, transformers, buildings and plant systems must be rebuilt or refurbished; the target already moved from as early as late 2028 to Q1 2029.

Physics limits

Old reactors age in ways you can't undoDecades of neutron bombardment slowly embrittle the steel reactor vessel. It can be inspected and managed, not replaced, so a restarted plant still has a finite life.
Few closed plants can come backMost retired reactors were dismantled or had key parts removed. Only plants kept largely intact are restart candidates, so this path adds little total capacity.
Steam plants waste two-thirds of the heatLike any steam turbine plant, a boiling-water reactor turns only about a third of its heat into electricity; the rest must be dumped through cooling towers or a river.

How it works

4 parts

Reactor

Water boils right inside the core

Uranium fission heats water in the reactor vessel until it boils. The steam goes straight to the turbine, with no separate steam generator.

Cooling

New cooling towers

Spent steam is condensed with water cooled in towers. The 2020 storm wrecked the old towers, which were later dismantled, so new ones must be built.

Licence

Restoring a cancelled licence

After shutdown the plant was licensed only to store fuel. The NRC must approve three amendments (operating rules, emergency and security plans).

Money

Long contract plus federal loan

Google's 25-year purchase gives steady revenue; the DOE loan lowers borrowing cost for the refurbishment.

Spec sheet

Spec	Duane Arnold restart
Output after restart	615 MW^R (reported)
Reactor	GE BWR-4, Mark I containment^R (reported)
Restart cost	More than $1.6B^R (reported)
DOE loan	Up to $1.9B^R (reported)
Google power deal	25 years^R (reported)
First commercial operation	Feb 1975^R (reported)
Jobs (build / operations)	~1,500 / 450+^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

4 updates

About NextEra Energy

The team behind Duane Arnold restart

NextEra Energy

Wind, solar, storage, nuclear; FPL utility

NextEra Energy owns Florida Power & Light and NextEra Energy Resources, the world's largest generator of wind and solar power. It is restarting the shut Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Iowa for Google, and in May 2026 agreed to merge with Dominion Energy.

Owns utility FPL and NextEra Energy Resources, the world's largest wind and solar generator, plus 7 reactors at 4 plants.
Restarting Iowa's Duane Arnold reactor for Google under a 25-year deal; a $1.9B federal loan closed Sep 2026.
A $67B all-stock merger with Dominion Energy, agreed May 2026, is expected to close within 18 months of the announcement.

nexteraenergy.com (opens nexteraenergy.com)Company profile →

Founded: 198442 yrs
Headquarters: United States
Status: Public
Valuation: public
Staff: ~16,700Jan 2024
Works in: EnergyFission
Coverage: 1 program · 5 updateslatest 8 Sep 2026checked 11 Oct
Customers: Google (opens investor.nexteraenergy.com)Central Iowa Power Cooperative (opens world-nuclear-news.org)
Partners: Dominion Energy (opens ans.org)
Investors: US Department of Energy (opens energy.gov)
People: John Ketchum (opens en.wikipedia.org)Chairman, President and CEO

Spec

Duane Arnold restart

Output after restart

615 MW^R (reported)

Reactor

GE BWR-4, Mark I containment^R (reported)

Restart cost

More than $1.6B^R (reported)

DOE loan

Up to $1.9B^R (reported)

Google power deal

25 years^R (reported)

First commercial operation

Feb 1975^R (reported)

Jobs (build / operations)

~1,500 / 450+^R (reported)

Duane Arnold restart

Milestones

Most important updates

Upcoming

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

Water boils right inside the core

New cooling towers

Restoring a cancelled licence

Long contract plus federal loan

Spec sheet

Update log

Tue 8 Sep

Tue 4 Aug

Mon 27 Oct 2025

Wed 29 Jan 2025

About NextEra Energy

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

Water boils right inside the core

New cooling towers

Restoring a cancelled licence

Long contract plus federal loan

Spec sheet

Update log

Tue 8 Sep

Tue 4 Aug

Mon 27 Oct 2025

Wed 29 Jan 2025

About NextEra Energy