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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.
Global 2026
Chief Technology Officer
SHINE
Dr. Radel has served as SHINE’s Chief Technology Officer since April 2021. He has over 20 years of R&D experience on a variety of fusion, fission, and particle accelerator technologies that are directly applicable to SHINE’s core technologies and is licensed as a Professional Engineer. From 2011 to 2021, Dr. Radel served as the CEO and Board Member of Phoenix Nuclear Labs where he led dozens of technical projects related to neutron generation and neutron-based detection methods. Prior to joining Phoenix, he served as a Senior Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories where he worked to develop space nuclear power systems. Dr. Radel holds a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where his research focused on high-flux fusion neutron generation for detecting clandestine materials such as HEU.
