The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Dominance Financing closed a loan of up to $1.9 billion to NextEra Energy on September 8, 2026, to finance the restart of the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Linn County, Iowa. The plant is Iowa's only nuclear power plant and has sat offline since it ceased operations in 2020.
What the loan pays for
DOE tied the loan to the Trump administration's nuclear policy, including an executive order titled "Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base." The restart still requires licensing approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission before Duane Arnold can return to the grid.
Power and jobs at stake
Once restarted, Duane Arnold would add 615 megawatts of baseload generation, enough to power nearly 500,000 homes, DOE said. The department said the project will create nearly 1,500 construction jobs and support more than 450 jobs during operations. DOE said the added power would help meet growing electricity demand in Iowa and the surrounding region.
The reaction
Deputy Secretary of Energy James P. Danly said the restart would return "615 megawatts of reliable baseload generation" to the grid while supporting American jobs. He linked the deal to a broader administration effort to expand nuclear generation, from restarting existing plants to building new capacity.
EDF Director Gregory A. Beard called Duane Arnold "exactly the kind of investment" the department wants to make to restore nuclear leadership and strengthen energy security.
A pattern of restarts
DOE said the Duane Arnold closing is EDF's third financed nuclear plant restart, and the office's fourth concurrent conditional commitment and financial closing completed under the Trump administration.
