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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.
2025 ANS Annual Conference
Expert in the field of nuclear energy, nuclear reactor technology and energy transformation. Participated in a number of national and international research projects in the field of nuclear technology. Author of numerous analyses and expert opinions for the nuclear sector. Academic teacher, long-time employee of the Faculty of Energy and Fuels at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow. In 2020-2024 secretary general of the Polish Nuclear Society. In 2022-2024 vice president of the European Nuclear Society. In October 2024 appointed director of the Department of Nuclear Energy at the Ministry of Industry.
Last modified April 17, 2025, 8:04am CDT
