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Fusion Science and Technology
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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.
Teruya Tanaka, Akio Sagara, Juro Yagi, Takeo Muroga
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 75 | Number 8 | November 2019 | Pages 1002-1009
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2019.1658044
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In 2013–2014, the FliNaK/LiPb twin-loop system Operational Recovery Of Separated Hydrogen and Heat Inquiry-2 (Oroshhi-2) was constructed at National Institute for Fusion Science as a liquid blanket collaboration platform. Inventory of FLiNaK and LiPb in the system is ~120 L for each, and both loops are providing a stable circulation environment. Oroshhi-2 has flexible capability to perform integrated experiments by installing all the components required for the liquid blanket system in one circulating loop at the same time. A 3-T superconducting magnet and 1-T permanent magnet enable simulation of the reactor environment except for radiations. As of the year of 2018, eight experimental topics related to liquid blanket technologies have been performed, prepared, or proposed as the first step of the Oroshhi-2 experiments. These topics cover the various blanket issues widely from first wall to secondary loop for power generation.