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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.
Plenary Session
Thursday, May 9, 2024|8:00–9:30AM MDT|Sweeney F
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Moderator
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has a rich history in space nuclear power, including design of nuclear systems, critical experiments, and materials fabrication. LANL capabilities ranging from 65 years of association with programs such as Kiwi and Rover to our actinide and material fabrication missions will be discussed. Perhaps no program better illustrates the importance of paying attention to the smallest aspects of a task than the application of nuclear energy to rocket propulsion.
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