Site Identification
| License Status: |
Transitioning to SAFSTOR |
| Permanantly Shutdown: |
8/10/2020 |
| Fuel Removed: |
10/12/2020 |
| Estimated Closure: |
2080 |
| Project Manager: |
Marlayna Doell |
Site Status Summary & Spent Fuel Status
The Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC) is a 1,912 MWt boiling water reactor that began operation in 1974 and is owned and operated by NextEra Energy Duane Arnold, LLC (NextEra). DAEC had stated its intention to permanently cease power operations in October 2020, but the reactor permanently shutdown on August 10, 2020, when a derecho (a land-based hurricane) damaged non-safety related portions of the plant, including the cooling towers.
By letter dated October 12, 2020, NextEra certified that all fuel had been removed from the reactor. NextEra submitted the DAEC Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) to the NRC on April 2, 2020. A PSDAR public meeting was originally scheduled for July 28, 2020, but the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) caused the original meeting to be cancelled. NRC held an in-person PSDAR public meeting near the plant in Palo, Iowa on September 28, 2021 to obtain public comments on the PSDAR. NRC held a virtual PSDAR public meeting on Oct 6, 2021 for the members of the public that were not comfortable attending an in-person meeting. In the PSDAR, NextEra stated its intention to move all of the spent nuclear fuel into dry cask storage by 2023 and place the plant into SAFSTOR, starting full decommissioning of the facility in 2075. NRC will continue to provide licensing oversight and inspections of the plant until the plant is completely decommissioned, including inspections of the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) until the spent fuel is permanently removed from the site and the license is terminated..
Significant Decommissioning Licensing Documents
- Certification of Permanent Cessation of Power Operations – ML20240A067
- Certification of Permanent Removal of Fuel from the Reactor Vessel – ML20286A317
- Duane Arnold Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) and Site-Specific Decommissioning Cost Estimate (DCE) – ML20094F603
- Defueled Technical Specifications Application and Supplements – ML19176A356, ML19261A141, and ML19308A085
- Defueled Technical Specifications Approval – ML20134J104
- Exemption Request to Use the Decommissioning Trust Fund (DTF) for Spent Fuel Management Costs – ML20056E054 and ML20153A371
- DTF Exemption Approval – ML20171A629 and ML20164A000
Major Technical or Regulatory Issues
None
Estimated Date for Closure
2080
