Iowa's Only Nuclear Power Plant: The Energy Department's Loan for Its Restart

On September 8, 2026, the Energy Department's Office of Energy Dominance Financing announced, in a release, the financial close of a loan "of up to $1.9 billion." The loan, to a company the release names, is to help finance the restart of a nuclear plant in Linn County, Iowa. The release says this "will bring Iowa's only nuclear power plant back online." Parts of the release follow, not the whole.

A Loan Closed, and Approvals Pending

The plant "ceased operations in 2020." The release does not put a date on its return. It says that "Pending required U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing approvals, the plant's restart will return reliable nuclear power to the grid and help meet growing electricity demand across Iowa and the Midwest."

The loan is closed, and the release gives no date for the restart. It leaves the plant's return with the regulator's approvals.

Power Back on the Grid

The restart, the release says, "will add 615 megawatts (MW) of reliable baseload power back on the grid," and it will "help meet growing electricity demand in Iowa and across the region." It says the project will create nearly 1,500 jobs during construction and support more than 450 during operations.

With this closing, the release says, the office "has now financed three nuclear plant restarts."