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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.
Day & Zimmermann (D&Z) is one of the largest family owned, privately held companies in the United States with a network of business divisions specializing in construction, engineering, operations and maintenance, staffing, security, and defense for leading corporations and governments worldwide. D&Z performs maintenance, capital projects, and specialty services at more than half of the country’s nuclear fleet. We specialize in servicing large, geographically dispersed power assets for dozens of utility companies. We work closely with local, state, and federal governments to ensure nuclear energy remains a safe, sustainable part of our domestic energy supply. As a leading craft employer, we annually hire more than 15,000 craft workers nationwide who deliver over 15.7 million hours worked. We partner with high schools, trade schools, building trades, and community colleges to promote careers in the nuclear industry. We also lead the industry in taking legislative action to drive workforce development funding. We believe nuclear skilled craft careers provide generations of high-paying jobs and are crucial to advancing nuclear technology and building modern America.
https://www.dayzim.com/services-and-products/maintenance-construction/nuclear
