Energy land, checked. Solar, wind, battery, and data-center projects, the permits they need, and the grid they plug into. Start here →
Parcel & Grid

Home › Guides › Energy questions

Can closed nuclear plants restart?

Updated

General information, not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.

Short answer: The NRC is reviewing three: Palisades in Michigan, Crane Clean Energy Center (formerly Three Mile Island Unit 1) in Pennsylvania, and Duane Arnold in Iowa. Palisades is furthest along; on August 25, 2025 its owner rescinded the certifications of permanent cessation and fuel removal, and the NRC says the power operations licensing basis took effect on that rescission (NRC Palisades). None of the NRC pages we opened states that a plant has returned to power.

Palisades, Michigan

The pressurized water reactor, licensed at 2,565.4 MWt, "permanently ceased operations on May 20, 2022" (NRC). Holtec submitted its regulatory path to reauthorize power operations on February 1, 2023, gave notice of readiness on July 1, 2025, and rescinded its shutdown certifications on August 25, 2025 (NRC). The license runs to March 24, 2031, and the most recent action listed is an October 13, 2026 fuel-handling amendment (NRC). EIA counts Palisades and Crane among 94 operating reactors as of March 2026 but reports them as "out of service," with operators "planning to bring reactors back online" (EIA FAQ 207).

Crane, Pennsylvania

Constellation's 2,568 MWt Babcock & Wilcox reactor permanently ceased operations in September 2019 and sits in SAFSTOR status (NRC). Constellation submitted its path to reauthorize operations on November 4, 2024. The NRC issued its final environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact on September 18, 2026, but the operating license, security plan, and emergency plan actions were still awaiting responses to NRC information requests as of the page's October 8, 2026 update (NRC). The license expires April 19, 2034.

Duane Arnold, Iowa

NextEra's 1,912 MWt boiling water reactor ceased operations on August 10, 2020 (NRC). The restart path was submitted January 23, 2025; the NRC issued a draft environmental assessment on July 30, 2026, with the final projected for fall 2026, and approved a direct license transfer on March 30, 2026 (NRC). No restart target date appears on the page. The license expires February 21, 2034.

What restart requires

  • An exemption from the 10 CFR 50.82 termination requirements, revised operating license and technical specifications, reinstated emergency and security plans, and an environmental review, each tracked on the NRC docket (NRC; NRC).
  • Reactors are licensed for 40 years, renewable to 60 and then 80; the fleet average was about 44 years in March 2026 (EIA FAQ 228). Crane and Duane Arnold have both flagged subsequent license renewal (NRC; NRC).

See data centers and land, grid interconnection by market, and substations versus transmission lines.

General information from the sources linked above, not legal, tax, or financial advice.

Sources and helpful links

More official contacts and resources: Helpful links.

Browse resources