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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.
May 6–10, 2024
Powering the Final Frontier
Santa Fe, NM
The Proceedings of NETS are now available to all who registered for the conference. Access to the Proceedings is linked to the account you used to register for NETS 2024.
You can also access the Proceedings by logging in to the ANS website and then:
We look forward to hosting NETS in May 2024! The venue for this conference is Santa Fe, the state capital of New Mexico, home to several laboratories with key roles in space nuclear power. Santa Fe is a city of ~90,000 people in Northern New Mexico located about 64 miles north of Albuquerque, the largest city of the state. Airports exist in both Santa Fe and Albuquerque for ease of travel. NETS 2024 will offer a variety of topics in space power. The first plenary session will be devoted to overall space nuclear power missions ranging from nuclear thermal propulsion to radioisotope power systems. The second plenary will give a New Mexico-centric focus with the Air Force Research Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories capabilities. The final plenary session will focus on the host laboratory, Los Alamos, and relevant history and facilities for space nuclear power missions. For those who wish to come early or stay an extra day or two to explore New Mexican culture, there are historical museums, national parks, and other tourist attractions around the area.
Speakers
Enhance your visibility at the Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space (NETS 2024) by becoming a sponsor or exhibitor. Sponsors and exhibitors are recognized on the meeting website and the mobile app. All sponsors will also be acknowledged at the Opening Plenary, in promotional communications, and on signage displayed throughout the meeting. Sponsorship packages are limited, so reserve your package early. View our prospectus for more information.
