NextEra Energy is still considering, but not committed to, restarting Iowa’s only nuclear power plant, which shut down in 2020, the head of the company told investors Tuesday.
“We are currently evaluating the recommissioning of our Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Iowa,” John Ketchum, chief executive officer of NextEra Energy said Tuesday in prepared remarks during a third-quarter earnings call with investor analysts.
Ketchum said more or less the same thing in July, during the company’s second-quarter earnings call.
Duane Arnold’s reactor was defueled by October 2022, having shut down two months before after a derecho storm damaged its cooling towers. The reactor went critical in 1974 and started delivering electricity to the grid a year later, according to a company fact sheet.
NextEra Energy Duane Arnold is decommissioning the plant. The company opted for the SAFESTOR method, which involves essentially leaving the plant alone until 2075 so that radiation levels can drop significantly.
