The Linn County Planning & Zoning Commission voted unanimously Monday night, Dec. 15, to recommend rezoning the land encompassing the Duane Arnold Energy Center near Palo, marking the latest step towards the plant’s proposed reopening.
The recommendation, which would rezone the 393-acre site from its current agricultural designation to the county’s newly-approved exclusive use zoning for nuclear power facilities, now heads to the Linn County Zoning Commission, which is slated to consider the first reading of the proposed rezoning at its Jan. 5, 2026 meeting.
The chances of the plant’s restart, which was formally proposed by NextEra in January, were substantially boosted in October, when Google announced its intent to purchase power from a restarted Duane Arnold nuclear plant under a 25-year agreement to support its cloud and AI infrastructure in Iowa – including the Google data center under construction in southwest Cedar Rapids and another Google data center proposed near Duane Arnold.
The Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO) is expected to purchase the remaining output, meaning that all power from the reopened plant would be consumed in Iowa.
In addition, NextEra Energy announced agreements to acquire CIPCO and Corn Belt Power Cooperative’s combined 30% interest in the plant, resulting in NextEra’s full ownership of Duane Arnold.
The commission’s vote to recommend rezoning came after presentations from Linn County Planning and Development director Charlie Nichols and Garrett Goldfinger, senior director of nuclear power development for NextEra Energy Resources, which is the 70% majority owner of the Duane Arnold facility under its NextEra Duane Arnold subsidiary.
In his presentation, Mr. Nichols outlined the requirements for the exclusive-use zoning designation, indicating that county staff felt NextEra’s plan was compliant and recommended approval of the rezoning request.
He noted that projections indicate reopening the plant would require an estimated 880 construction jobs, and if reopened, it would employ 433 full-time, high-wage employees and provide an estimated $3 million in annual tax revenue.
As he has previously, Mr. Nichols noted that the county’s consideration of rezoning for the plant, represents just one of many procedural steps that must be completed before the plant can be approved to reopen.
“There’s a lot of federal oversight with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission here,” Mr. Nichols said. “Rezoning approval is just one step in a long process. If rezoning is approved by Linn County, it does not mean I will restart.”
The NRC review, Mr. Nichols said, will include a safety analysis and reactor design approval, environmental review and licensing, radiological emergency planning and then ongoing inspections and compliance.
“The plant cannot restart operations until all federal benchmarks have met,” he noted.
Later in the meeting, Mr. Nichols also noted that the county’s development of an exclusive-use zoning district, which was spurred by increased national interest in nuclear power facilities, came after county officials realized there weren’t comparable zoning codes in place elsewhere to use for modeling.
“I think for that resurgence in nuclear power to be successful, local government is going to need to be a part of that conversation,” Mr. Nichols said. “I think what Linn County is doing here, which is – as far as I can tell – the first zoning code directly for nuclear power generation facilities, is an important step in part in that national push to increase nuclear power production.”
A host community agreement with Linn County – which is mandatory as part of the new exclusive-use zoning district and requires the nuclear energy plant owner to cover costs for security and emergency preparedness, as well as outlining economic development benefits – is being developed and should be ready for supervisors’ consideration in early January, Mr. Nichols said.
In his presentation, Mr. Goldfinger outlined NextEra’s plans to restart the 615-megawatt boiling water Duane Arnold nuclear plant, which began operations in 1975 and was shut down after the August 2020 derecho and after Alliant Energy declined to renew its power purchase agreement for the plant’s output.
He said the plant’s operating license, which remains in effect from before its shutdown, is set to expire in 2035, but that NextEra would be seeking a 20-year extension of that license, which would authorize operation until 2054 if approved.
Mr. Goldfinger also cited other economic benefits for the plant’s restart, including a nationwide economic impact of $16 billion during the plant’s restarted operation – $9 billion of that in Iowa, and $8 billion in Linn County alone.
Eight local residents also spoke in favor of the rezoning proposal and the Duane Arnold plant’s impact on the area and its economy.
Doug Blair of Swisher, who said he was speaking as both a local resident and a longtime Duane Arnold employee, said the restarted plant would help address the “brain drain” that has spurred many younger Iowans to leave the state for better opportunities elsewhere.
“The recommissioning and restart of DAEC is a great example of how to stem that brain drain and give our young people a great option to stay or come back to Iowa, he said. “DAEC was staffed with great people and can be again. Those folks were active in their communities. They recognized their blessings in being part of a great power plant operation and paid it forward at every opportunity. (They) recognized the role of the ADC in keeping their region strong and economically stable … I believe former employees will return to Linn County. New families will move to our area as the plan begins to hire and train the next generation. Our young people graduating from trade programs colleges and universities will have an opportunity to begin their careers and families spread here in Iowa. Although an unfortunate series of events led to the decommissioning of the DAEC, we have a unique opportunity to recommission and restart a safe and reliable green generating asset for our community.”
We strongly support the restart of the Duane Arnold Energy Center,” said Barbra Solberg, public policy strategist for the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance. “The restart of Duane Arnold, and NextEra’s partnership with Google, is a significant investment in the future of our country. Restarting Dwayne Arnold will strengthen the country’s energy infrastructure, creating an investment-friendly environment that promotes the continued growth and success of the Corridor area.”
And Frank Van Etten of Center Point, a 37-year DAEC employee, presented the board with a paperback book-sized glass ingot that he received from DAEC, representing the power generation capacity of a similarly-sized pellet of uranium, which he said equaled the power output of a ton of coal – enough to power four homes for a month.
“That plant will produce no greenhouse gasses or acid rain,” he said, “and facing global warming, I think it’s going to be a problem solver.”
More details about NextEra’s nuclear power application can be found on Linn County’s website.
