nuclear-news

Dean Curtland, plant director, told The Gazette in 2018 Iowa’s changing energy landscape has overshadowed and outpriced Duane Arnold.

Closing the facility could save NextEra about $300 million over 21 years, with cost savings coming as early as 2021. That translates to about $42 per residential customer.

What impact did the derecho have on its decommissioning?

NextEra Energy already was planning on decommissioning Duane Arnold this year.

When the derecho caused “extensive” damage to the facility’s cooling towers, NextEra opted against restarting the plant so close to the Oct. 30 decommissioning date.

Replacing the cooling towers with fewer than three months until decommissioning was “not feasible,” Robbins said last month.

What is happening now that the plant is shut down?

The decommissioning process is underway as employees remove nuclear material from the facility

“There’s the nuclear fuel that was in the reactor and then nuclear fuel that was in a pool — what is called the spent fuel pool,” Robbins said. “We’ve been moving a lot of the fuel out of that pool and putting it in a storage facility on the site.”

How long will the decommissioning process take?

The process involves several steps, starting with removing nuclear material from the site.

After nuclear material goes into the spent fuel pool, it can go into dry storage.

After all the fuel  is removed, officials have 60 years to decommission the facility……….

Are there any other nuclear power plants in Iowa?

Duane Arnold was the last nuclear power plant in the state. The closest nuclear power plant is in Cordova, Ill., about 20 miles northeast of Moline along the Mississippi River.

Comments: (319) 398-8394; john.steppe@thegazette.com   https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/business/duane-arnold-energy-center-nuclear-plant-iowa-palo-ia-decommission-20200925