Iowa task force lays out a plan to bring back nuclear power

Iowa hasn't had a working nuclear plant since 2020. That's when Duane Arnold, the state's only one, shut down. Now Iowa's governor has a plan to change that. A task force she created in January released its final report this week. It made nine recommendations for reviving nuclear power in the state.

Iowa isn't starting from zero, though. NextEra Energy is already working to restart Duane Arnold, aiming for early 2029. Google has agreed to buy power from the plant once it's running again. The task force's report leans into that momentum. Its biggest recommendation: give the state one clear office to handle anyone who wants to build nuclear power in Iowa. Right now, a company faces multiple agencies with no clear front door. The task force also proposed a "nuclear-ready" program, to help individual communities show they're prepared for a project.

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Will Duane Arnold actually come back online by 2029? Restarting a shuttered nuclear plant is rare and hard; only two other US plants have tried it. If it works, Iowa gets its nuclear power back before the task force's other nine ideas even become law. One piece of this story is already real momentum. The rest is still just a recommendation.