NextEra Energy, the largest energy company in the US – surpassing Exxon/Mobil – owns Florida Light and Power (FPL) and NextEra Energy Resources (world’s largest generator of renewable energy). They believe power demand could surge 80% over the next five years and sixfold compared to the last 20 years. “The only close analogy you could draw is to the last industrial revolution,” according to John W. Ketchum chairman, president, and CEO of NextEra Energy.
Therefore, NextEra Energy is taking steps to restart the 615-MW Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Iowa as early as 2028. In addition, they have signed a new partnership with GE Vernova to develop natural gas generation projects that could be paired with renewable energy facilities and battery energy storage. All of this is part of their planned expansion to double their 64-GW (gigawatts) generating fleet by 2027.
NextEra has been one of the country’s largest investors in energy infrastructure, spending more than $150 billion over the past decade on projects ranging from nuclear upgrades to natural gas pipelines and renewables. And over the next four years, they are planning to invest ~$120 billion to grow their combined fleet to ~121 GW.
Ketchum said that near-term opportunities lie in restarting existing plants, such as Duane Arnold, rather than building new ones from the ground up. Duane Arnold remains a key contender, given “a lot of interest in the plan” and in nuclear plant recommissioning. The plant itself, “remains in very good condition”. “The only damage that we ever sustained at Duane Arnold was the derecho that took down the cooling tower. But building a cooling tower, that’s run of the mill,” he said. “It’s pretty conventional construction, so not a whole lot of risk there.”
Such a move would align with broader industry efforts to diversify power generation portfolios with nuclear and gas as versatile, reliable options.
NextEra already has over 24 GW of renewable capacity – you can build a wind project in 12 months, an energy storage facility in 15 months, and a solar project in 18 months. However, to bring on new gas-fired generation will take much longer – you must go and find the sites, then develop the sites, get natural gas to those sites, purchase and install the gas turbines, and finally connect them to the grid. All those things together, the question becomes … Just how soon can we gas contributing at scale? NextEra is hopefully looking at new gas generation by 2030, but new nuclear would be much later. As president and CEO Ketchum says, “We need shovels in the ground today because our customers need power right now.”
Photo: Duane Arnold Energy Center
Photo Credit: YouTube
