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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
Monday, May 9, 2022|4:00–6:00PM EDT|Calypso
Session Chair:
Donald Helton (NASA)
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Susannah Howieson
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Assessing the Needs for Space Reactor Standards
Andrew Klein (Oregon State), Allen Camp (Consultant), Lee Mason (NASA Glenn Research Center), Karl Garman (FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation)
Paper
NASA Nuclear Flight Safety -- New Protocols for Safety and Mission Assurance
Donald Helton (NASA), Matt Forsbacka (NASA)
A Technical Interpretation of the SPD6 Radioactivity Limited "Sufficiently High" Disposition Orbit Lifetime for a Space Fission Reactor
Andrea Alfonsi (USNC-Tech), Michael Eades (USNC-Tech)
Summary of the Nuclear Risk Assessment 2019 Update for the Mars 2020 Mission Environmental Impact Statement
Daniel J. Clayton (Sandia)
Launch Approval Process for DOD Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion Systems
Susan S. Voss (DARPA/TTO SETA)
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