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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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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.
Technical Session|Panel|Sponsored by Young Members Group
Wednesday, June 19, 2024|8:00–9:45AM PDT|Palm H
Session Chair:
John Mobley
Alternate Chair:
Fabiano Carvalho de Castro Sene
Session Organizer:
Following the March 2023 release of the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Advanced Nuclear” report, there has been an increasing focus on securing and preparing the future nuclear workforce to meet a potential scaling of domestic nuclear capacity. Given this imperative, how can we encourage more individuals into the industry from various backgrounds and create pathways for them to acquire the necessary skills and expertise? This panel session aims to explore the career trajectories of industry professionals entering the nuclear sector and analyze how these journeys could influence the recruitment of skilled individuals for the future workforce.
Woo Lee
Constellation
Julia Kumpan
TerraPower
Jamie Lambie
Zeno Power
Jeremy Moon
University of Nevada, Reno
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