Alliant Energy may not renew a contract with Iowa’s Duane Arnold nuclear plant when it expires in 2014.Speaking with analysts Thursday, Alliant CEO Bill Harvey said, “We believe it is unlikely that we will renew this purchased power agreement with NextEra,” the operator and majority owner of the plant.A NextEra spokesman told KCRG News that Alliant’s Iowa subsidiary Interstate Power and Light had also indicated it would not extend the contract, although an IP&L spokesman said a contract extension hasn’t been ruled out. The Alliant subsidiary is also exploring the construction of a 600 megawatt natural gas plant in Iowa.In any event, the NextEra spokesman said the plant could remain economically viable without the contract, and NextEra has discussed long-term power deals with several other companies. Duane Arnold operates a single 640-megawatt, GE-4 boiling water reactor licensed in 1974 at the plant near Cedar Rapids, Iowa, according the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
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