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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 15, 2023|1:00–2:45PM EST|Cabinet
Session Chair:
Pavel V. Tsvetkov (TAMU)
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Massimiliano Fratoni
Research reactors are the key component of today's nuclear engineering education and advanced research. Supporting nuclear workforce development efforts, these facilities provide hands-on experiences to nuclear engineering students. From research and development considerations, research reactors serve as critically important test beds, supporting contemporary nuclear engineering R&D. This panel will provide the opportunity to overview and discuss ongoing efforts in using existing capabilities and establishing new research reactor and facilities capabilities in support of advanced nuclear reactor R&D. Panelists will overview their efforts, share successes and lessons learnt, and facilitate the discussion with attendees.
Sandra Bogetic
Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville
Ayman Hawari
NCSU
April Novak
Univ. Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Tim Head
Abilene Christian Univ.
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