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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.
2023 ANS Annual Meeting Plenary SPeaker
Senior Vice President for Policy and Public Affairs
Nuclear Energy Institute
John Kotek is Senior Vice President for Policy and Public Affairs at the Nuclear Energy Institute, and serves as President of Nuclear Matters, a national coalition of grassroots advocates working to inform the public and policymakers about the clear benefits of nuclear energy. Prior to joining NEI, John served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy in the US Department of Energy. From 2010-2012, John served as Staff Director to the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, which was charged with recommending a new strategy for the nation’s nuclear waste management program. In 2002, John was the American Nuclear Society’s Congressional Fellow. John began his career with the U.S. Department of Energy in 1989, and has also served as an R&D program manager at Argonne National Laboratory and as a public affairs consultant. He holds a BS in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Maryland.
Last modified June 12, 2023, 3:14pm EDT
