I don’t understand the logic of reopening the Duane Arnold Energy Center because life is like a cartoon called The Simpsons. What I do know is Caden Bell offers no logical reason to reopen the Duane Arnold Energy Center nuclear power plant in his Dec. 5 opinion in the Solon Economist.

First things first. The technology at Duane Arnold is old. The physical plant is old. Its permit has been renewed twice. There is a limit to the life of facilities built in the 1970s.

Why throw new money after old technology? If Iowa were to restart nuclear power, we should at least wait until known problems have been resolved. Bill Gates is working on that, having received a permit for a small modular reactor in Wyoming. If nuclear power has a future in the energy mix, it is not at Duane Arnold, but in small modular reactors if the bugs can be worked out. That is a big if. Give Gates and company time to do the work.

Who will pay? The nuclear energy industry relies heavily on federal subsidies. Bell offers nothing about financing the return of nuclear power in Iowa. It remains a key issue with any electricity source. His opinion is useless without addressing who will pay and determining the source of funding..

My recommendation is Bell return to watching The Simpsons and keep opining about real-world issues like nuclear power among his university friends.

Paul Deaton
Solon