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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|Radioisotope Power Systems
Thursday, May 9, 2024|10:00–11:40AM MDT|Sweeney A
Session Chair:
Nick Wozniak (LANL)
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Joe Giglio (INL)
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Development of Small-Sized Stirling Radioisotope Generator
10:00–10:25AM MDT
Yongrok Jeong (KAERI), Jong-Bum Kim (KAERI), Sunjin Kim (KAERI), Jin-Joo Kim (KAERI), Jin Kim (KAERI), Gujin Kang (KAERI), Suk-cheol Kwon (KAERI), Jintae Hong (KAERI)
Paper
Assembly, Integration, and Initial Test Results of a Stirling Radioisotope Power System Generator Testbed
10:25–10:50AM MDT
Ernestina Wozniak (NASA Glenn Research Center), Salvatore Oriti (NASA Glenn Research Center), Natasha Jackson (HX5 Sierra), Tyler Steiner (NASA Glenn Research Center)
Presentation Slides (Visible to Attendees)
High Efficiency Stirling Radioisotope Power System Development and Mission Application
10:50–11:15AM MDT
Leo Gard (Aerojet Rocketdyne), Erik Scougal (Aerojet Rocketdyne), Aaron Poehls (Aerojet Rocketdyne), Erich Soendker (Aerojet Rocketdyne), Hannah Sargeant (Space Park Leicester), Emily Jane Watkinson (Space Park Leicester), Ramy Mesalam (Space Park Leicester), Richard Ambrosi (Space Park Leicester), Alessandra Barco (Space Park Leicester), Marzio Mazzotti (Space Park Leicester)
Relevant Environment Demonstrations of Sunpower Robust Stirling Convertors for Radioisotope Powered Missions
11:15–11:40AM MDT
Tyler R. Steiner (NASA Glenn Research Center), Daniel D. Goodell (NASA Glenn Research Center), Matthew D. Stang (NASA Glenn Research Center)
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