NextEra is assessing the Duane Arnold plant and speaking with regulators with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and local groups, CEO John Ketchum said on a company earnings call.
“We’re very interested in recommissioning the plant,” said Ketchum, adding that the site uses a boiling water reactor, which can be simpler than other systems to revive.
“That gives us optimism of being able to do this at an attractive price and without as much risk,” Ketchum said.
After struggling for decades with poor economics and safety concerns that led 13 reactors to shut since 2012, the nuclear industry is experiencing a revival driven by a sudden turnaround in electricity demand.
The longer a nuclear plant is shut, the higher the chances of corrosion and other issues that could prevent a restart, and analysts broadly project that only a few of the country’s shut nuclear sites could be relaunched.
“We think NextEra’s Duane Arnold nuclear plant is among those in the U.S. that is most likely to restart given it closed fairly recently,” said Mike Doyle, senior equity analyst for utilities at Edward Jones, citing the plant’s August 2020 closure.
Still, NextEra said it was focused on growing its renewable energy business. Nuclear power uses uranium to produce carbon-free electricity and is not renewable like wind and solar power.
NextEra, which includes the world’s largest renewables business and one of the biggest U.S. regulated electric utilities, has entered into “incremental framework agreements” with Fortune-50 to develop 10.3 gigawatts renewable energy and storage.
NextEra’s renewables arm, NextEra Energy Resources, projected a backlog of 24 gigawatts (GW) in the third quarter, up from nearly 22.6 GW in the second quarter.
The company’s regulated utilities business, Florida Power & Light, reported net income of $1.29 billion, compared with $1.18 billion a year earlier.
NextEra’s overall quarterly revenue of $7.57 billion, however, missed estimates of around $8.10 billion, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by LSEG.
The company, which is based in Florida, maintained its 2024 adjusted earnings-per-share forecast. Executives said they expect EPS in 2025 to be in a range of $3.45 to $3.70.
On an adjusted basis, NextEra earned $1.03 per share in the quarter, compared with estimate of 98 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.
However, the unit reported a loss of $40 million due to higher interest payments and a loss on some continuing operations, compared to year-ago net income of $53 million. Its shares were down 11.5% in early morning trade.
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Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru and Laila Kearney in New York; Editing by Pooja Desai and Maju Samuel, Franklin Paul and David Gregorio
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