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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.
American Nuclear Society presents
March 25, 2020|1:00–2:15PM (2:00–3:15PM EDT)
Available to All Users
The American Nuclear Society Young Members Group (YMG), the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) Nuclear Innovation: Clean Energy Future (NICE Future) initiative, and the International Youth Nuclear Congress (IYNC) proudly hosted this webinar on how microreactors will empower many innovative uses in our future clean energy economy.
Panelists discussed how these paradigm-shifting technologies will enable remote villages, island communities, military operations, off-grid consumers, and high-temperature process heat customers to benefit from carbon-free nuclear energy. The panelists also explored the state of the technology development, benefits, economics, potential customers, and opportunities to incorporate cutting-edge innovations, such as additive manufacturing and remote/autonomous operations.
Alice Caponiti, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fleet and Advanced Reactor Deployment at the U.S. Department of Energy, provided special remarks.
Panel:
Moderator:
