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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
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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|Panel|Panels
Friday, April 17, 2026|2:30–3:30PM CDT|MSC 2405
Session Chair:
Karl Gomez
Alternate Chair:
Vincent Su
Session Organizer:
Carlo Dal Colletto (TAMU)
This panel covers the economic landscape surrounding nuclear investment and deployment strategy. Key topics include Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) for advanced reactors, risk assessment frameworks, NRC licensing activities and timelines, how the regulatory environment needs to evolve to accommodate novel reactor designs, private vs. public financing models, and the broader economic strategy of deploying nuclear in a competitive energy market. The panel is designed for an audience that may not be deeply familiar with the business side of nuclear energy.
Joseph Wolf
Texas A&M University
David O'Keefe
Dennis Beal
Institute for Strategic and Innovative Technologies
Russell Stachowski
GNF
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