New training center marks next step in efforts to reopen Duane Arnold

HIAWATHA, Iowa (KCRG) - Ahead of the Duane Arnold Energy Center’s proposed restart, owner NextEra Energy is preparing by training operators to run the nuclear power plant.

Company representatives and Hiawatha Mayor Steve Dodson celebrated the opening of a new training center in Hiawatha with a ribbon cutting Monday.

The center is a temporary facility, as NextEra is planning to break ground on a training center on-site near Palo later this year.

If the facility gets the green light with federal regulators to come back online, the more than 100 people training over the next two years would oversee operations.

Rob Spading, the assistant operations manager of training for the plant, said the first class of 24 candidates to become licensed operators has already started. More classes of 24 are planned for August and next year.

“We needed a facility where we could start training today because it’s such a long road between now and when the operators are ready for the plant because it takes about two years to train the first crew,” said Spading.

Those candidates will also spend time training “in-plant” before receiving their license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which Spading said will “all be done well before we start up.”

NextEra plans to restart the plant in early 2029.

Simulator room provides intensive training opportunity

The main feature of the training center is a large control room simulator, with touchscreens that mimic the nuclear plant’s controls.

On Tuesday, senior operators ran a simulation of a serious mechanical issue to demonstrate the room’s capabilities.

One of those operators, Glenn Rushworth, said stepping back into the control room after ten years of retirement was easy as his training was “so effective and so ingrained in us.”

The thirty-year veteran operator for Duane Arnold is now an instructor for “the new kids.”

“I was one of the first classes that actually had a simulator... The new kids, I call them kids, they learn a little bit differently than we did, right? So, we’ve had to adapt how we do things. And one of the things we’ve done is this glass panel simulator,” said Rushworth.

He said the company wants to establish a strong work environment.

“They wanted to reinstill that Duane Arnold culture - that hard work, conservative decision making, and understanding how we fit in the community. That’s the reason why we were brought back here,” Rushworth said. “So we all know each other and it’s a lot of fun. It’s just been a lot of fun so far.“

He said he and his returning colleagues are excited to start up again.

“The company is willing to spend money because it’s safe and it’s reliable. The corporation has told us over and over again, ‘we’re operationally driven, we’re operationally focused and it’s important the plans runs reliably,’” he said.

The permanent building at the plant will feature the temporary building’s simulator and a second one.