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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|Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion
Saturday, April 5, 2025|1:40–3:00PM MDT|Valle Grande 2
Session Chair:
Keenan R. Kresl-Hotz
Alternate Chair:
Melissa A. Moreno
Session Organizer:
Ashley Machado
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The Evolution of Radioisotopic Thermal Generators
1:40–2:00PM MDT
Olivia M. Belian (New Mexico State)
Paper
Architecture of a Nuclear Propulsion Structure for Interstellar Travel
2:00–2:20PM MDT
Grace E. Bittlingmaier (Beam Alpha)
Do Low Radioactivity Space Nuclear Systems Need a Complete Safety Analysis Review?
2:20–2:40PM MDT
Ana Laura Villicaña (Georgetown Univ.)
Conceptual Design of a 100kW Heat Pipe Cooled Yttrium Hydride Moderated Micro Reactor
2:40–3:00PM MDT
Ryan J. Sei (Missouri Univ. Science and Technology), Liatris Parker-Reece (Missouri Univ. Science and Technology), Steph Moore (Missouri Univ. Science and Technology)
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