PALO, Iowa (KCRG) - The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission this week granted a waiver for Next Era Energy to restart the Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Linn County.

The filing on Monday notes that Next Era aims to have the nuclear plant restarted sometime in 2028 at a cost of $50-$100 million.

At the same time on Wednesday, Linn County approved a second reading of zoning rules that would clear the way for the nuclear plant to resume operations.

The Duane Arnold plant shut down in 2020 after it was damaged in the 2020 derecho. It was already moving to cease operations at the time, citing a poor market for nuclear power, but that was sped up by the storm damage.

Shortly after shutting down, Next Era moved to install a solar project on the plant, which began operations at the end of 2024

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