NextEra Energy announced on Tuesday that it had closed a loan of up to $1.9 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy.
- The loan would support restarting its Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa, the state’s only nuclear power plant.
- The restart is estimated to generate more than $9 billion in economic benefits for Iowa over 25 years and create thousands of American jobs during construction and refurbishment.
- Earlier last week, NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy announced that its shareholders have approved their merger for a deal that is expected to create the world’s largest electric utility company by market capitalization.
Shares of NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE) closed up about 0.5% on Tuesday and continued to climb overnight after the company announced that it had snagged a loan of up to $1.9 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy to support the restart of its Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa.
The company said the loan would help it move closer to its milestone of restoring Iowa’s only nuclear plant and adding reliable, around-the-clock energy to the regional grid.
NEE’s Duane Arnold Energy Center
NextEra’s Duane Arnold Energy Center is a 615-megawatt nuclear facility in Linn County, Iowa.
Last October, NextEra Energy announced plans to restart the Duane Arnold Energy Center no later than the first quarter of 2029, pending regulatory approvals.
The restart is estimated to generate more than $9 billion in economic benefits for Iowa over 25 years and create thousands of American jobs during construction and refurbishment, among other benefits.
The loan from the DOE will help the company return Duane Arnold to service for its customers, advancing one of the most significant nuclear restart efforts underway in the U.S., it said in a statement.
“Restarting Duane Arnold is about delivering new power to meet new demand while generating billions of dollars in economic value for Iowans,” said John Ketchum, chairman, president and CEO of NextEra Energy.
“Just as importantly, it shows how America can support rapid economic growth and rising electricity demand while helping keep power affordable for existing customers. By bringing new generation online to serve new demand, we can strengthen the grid, create hundreds of good-paying jobs and help ensure Iowa families and businesses are not asked to bear the costs of growth,” he added.
NextEra Shareholders Approve Merger Deal With Dominion Energy
Earlier last week, NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy (D) announced that shareholders approved their merger, which is expected to create the world’s largest electric utility company by market capitalization. The companies first announced the transaction in May.
The deal is valued at about $66.8 billion in equity. NextEra investors will own roughly 74.5% of the combined company, and Dominion investors will hold about 25.5%. The combined entity is expected to trade under the NextEra Energy name on the NYSE under the symbol NEE.
NEE Stock: Retail Sentiment
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around NEE stock improved from ‘bearish’ to ‘neutral’ over 24 hours, while message volumes increased from ‘low’ to ‘normal’ levels.
Shares of the company have gained more than 3.5% so far this year.
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