NextEra Energy Resources, owner of Iowa’s only nuclear power plant, will close the Palo facility in late 2020, eliminating about 500 positions, the Cedar Rapids Gazette reports. NextEra reached an agreement with Alliant Energy to shorten the term of an existing power purchase agreement by five years. Alliant Energy will make a $110 million buyout in September 2020. NextEra President and CEO Armando Pimentel said “several hundred jobs will remain at the plant for a number of years” as the company undergoes a decommissioning process at the Duane Arnold Energy Center, which is one of the larger employers in Linn County.