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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|Panel|Sponsored by RPD
Wednesday, November 20, 2024|10:00–11:45AM EST|Canaveral 3
Session Chair:
Pavel V. Tsvetkov (TAMU)
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Zeyun Wu
A number of research reactors, test reactors, and facilities are in operation or are being developed and built. They support important R&D programs towards current and future developments. Many of these facilities are at university campuses, serving as both educational and R&D instruments. Although the design space of research facilities is dominated by light water systems, interest is growing in expanding research capabilities towards advanced research reactors. Universities are exploring pathways to bring either advanced research reactors or advanced irradiation capabilities to their campuses. Recently, Abilene Christian University received a construction permit approval to bring Natura Resources MSR-1 as the university advanced research reactor. This panel, composed of university community experts, will discuss ongoing and planned efforts involving research reactors, test reactors, and research facilities focusing on the significant opportunities offered by these systems in support of advanced reactor R&D. Economics, deployment, and licensing related to having such facilities on university campuses will be taken into discussion.
Rusty Towell
Abilene Christian Univ.
Kostadin Ivanov
NCSU
Sandra Bogetic
Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville
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