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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.
10:00–11:40AM CDT
Brentwood/Franklin
Session Chair: Nathan Capps|Co-Chair: Jean-Jérome VERMOYAL
Salon A
Session Chair: Rosemary A. Montgomery|Co-Chair: Paul E. Cantonwine
Salon B
Session Chair: Christopher Matthews|Co-Chair: Fausto Franceschini
Cumberland South
Session Chair: Magnus Limbäck|Co-Chair: Dan Lutz
1:00–2:40PM CDT
Session Chair: Nadine Hollasky|Co-Chair: Brenden Mervin
Session Chair: Jinzhao Zhang|Co-Chair: Hyochan Kim
Session Chair: Joakim K. Karlsson|Co-Chair: Daniel Jädernäs
Session Chair: Rich Augi|Co-Chair: Cristina Munoz-Reja Ruiz
3:15–4:55PM CDT
Session Chair: Birol Aktas|Co-Chair: Yongdeog Kim
Session Chair: David Rumschlag|Co-Chair: Jeff Kobelak
Session Chair: Uffe Bergmann|Co-Chair: Kan Sakamoto
3:15–5:20PM CDT
Session Chair: Patty McCumbee|Co-Chair: Michael Boone
8:00–9:40AM CDT
Session Chair: Guirong Pan|Co-Chair: John Beale
Session Chair: Nathan Capps|Co-Chair: Nicolas Woolstenhulme
Session Chair: Zeses E. Karoutas|Co-Chair: Walter G. Luscher
Session Chair: Nadine Hollasky|Co-Chair: Randall J. Dunavant
Session Chair: John Beale|Co-Chair: Dong-Joo Kim
Session Chair: Paul Clifford|Co-Chair: Birol Aktas
Session Chair: Ian E. Porter|Co-Chair: Patrick Raynaud
Session Chair: Kenneth J. Geelhood|Co-Chair: Petr Cervenka
Session Chair: Darren J. Skitt|Co-Chair: Peter G. Newby
Session Chair: Nico Vollmer|Co-Chair: Paul E. Cantonwine
Session Chair: Jeff Kobelak|Co-Chair: Ian Porter
Session Chair: Kenneth J. Geelhood|Co-Chair: Paul Clifford
Session Chair: Shinichiro Yamashita|Co-Chair: Nico Vollmer
Session Chair: Peter G. Newby|Co-Chair: Darren J. Skitt
Session Chair: Johann Plancher|Co-Chair: William P. Gassmann
Session Chair: Aylin Kucuk|Co-Chair: Yixing Sung
Session Chair: Brady D. Hanson|Co-Chair: Uffe Bergmann
Session Chair: Daniel R. Brown|Co-Chair: Matthieu Aumand
Session Chair: Brenden Mervin|Co-Chair: Matthieu Aumand
Session Chair: Kenneth J. Geelhood|Co-Chair: Yun Long
Session Chair: Antoine Boulore|Co-Chair: Kazuo Kakiuchi
Session Chair: Mahmut N. Cinbiz|Co-Chair: Patty McCumbee
Session Chair: Jason Medina|Co-Chair: David Rumschlag
Session Chair: Daniel M. Wachs|Co-Chair: Jae H. Yang
Session Chair: Patrick Raynaud|Co-Chair: Phil Sharpe
Session Chair: Libing Zhu|Co-Chair: Zeses E. Karoutas
Session Chair: Joakim Karlsson|Co-Chair: Dan Lutz
Session Chair: Kurshad Muftuoglu|Co-Chair: Jinzhao Zhang
Session Chair: Johann Plancher|Co-Chair: Randall J. Dunavant
Session Chair: Aylin Kucuk|Co-Chair: Shun Hirooka
