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Getting back to yes: A local perspective on decommissioning, restart, and responsibility
For 45 years, Duane Arnold Energy Center operated in Linn County, Ia., near the town of Palo and just northwest of Cedar Rapids. The facility, owned by NextEra Energy, was the only nuclear power plant in the state.
In August 2020, a historic derecho swept across eastern Iowa with winds approaching 140 miles per hour. Damage to the plant’s cooling towers accelerated a shutdown that had already been planned, and the facility entered decommissioning soon after, with its fuel removed in October of that year. Iowa’s only nuclear plant had gone off line.
Today the national energy landscape looks very different than it did just six short years ago. Electricity demand is rising rapidly as data centers, artificial intelligence infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and electrification expand across the country. Reliable, carbon-free baseload power has become increasingly valuable. In that context, Linn County has approved the rezoning necessary to support the recommissioning and restart of Duane Arnold and is actively supporting NextEra’s efforts to secure the remaining state and federal approvals.
For more details on any of the standards below, please contact standards.
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Before work on a draft standard can begin, a Project Initiation Notification System (PINS) form must be approved and submitted to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The following projects have PINS forms in the development and/or approval process:
The following projects have approved PINS forms and are in development:
This section provides notice of public review on proposed draft new American National Standards, and on proposals to revise, reaffirm or withdraw approval of existing American National Standards. Comments in connection with a draft standard must be submitted in writing/electronically (in accordance with ANS procedures) no later than the last day of the specified comment period. Comments shall be specific to the section(s) of the standard under review and include sufficient detail to enable the reader to understand the commenter's position, concerns and suggested alternative language, if appropriate.
To request an electronic copy contact orders@ans.org | Send comments to standards@ans.org
Single copy price: $50.00
The following drafts are open for public comment:
ANS-2.36-202x, Accident Analysis for Aircraft Crash into Reactor and Nonreactor Nuclear Facilities (proposed new standard)
This standard’s broad reactor and nonreactor nuclear facility applicability provides the user the requirements and guidance to evaluate and assess the significance of aircraft crash risk on nuclear facility safety and provides a framework of stepwise increases in analytical sophistication aimed to demonstrate that an aircraft crash either does or does not exceed a risk level of concern equivalent to other generally applied sources of risk from the operation of nuclear facilities.
Comment deadline: June 20, 2026 (comments received after this date will not be accepted)
ANS-6.4-202x, Nuclear Analysis and Design of Concrete Radiation Shielding for Nuclear Power Plants (revision of ANSI/ANS-6.4-2006; R2021)
A revision is needed to address hybrid transport methods and to add MicroShield and SCALE to the appendix listing computer codes. A revision will also address the presence of hydrogen content in serpentine ore and the minimum neutron energy to be considered for concrete degradation. Lastly, clarification will be included to provide additional considerations when concrete serves the dual role of shield and structural element.
Comment deadline: June 22, 2026 (comments received after this date will not be accepted)
Projects at ballot have completed drafts that have been issued for subcommittee or consensus committee ballot/concurrent public review. Before proceeding, all comments must be considered. Multiple ballots may be needed before a draft is approved. The following draft standards are in the process of approval/comment resolution:
The following new or revised standards have recently received ANSI approval:
Last modified April 28, 2026, 7:42am CDT
