Prairie Island named Chris Younie as the new plant manager effective April 21, 2014. Younie comes to Prairie Island from INPO, where he has been a Plant Evaluation Team Leader.

Prior to joining INPO in 2007, Younie worked at Callaway in Fulton, Mo., where he was manager of Business Operation and Operations. He also spent 23 years at Wolf Creek following his service in the U.S. Navy on the USS Ethan Allen, where he was an electronics technician/reactor operator.

While at Wolf Creek, he held progressive positions as reactor operator, control room supervisor, shift supervisor and assistant operations manager. From 2001-2004, through the USA/STARS Alliance, he was director of Quality Oversight for both Wolf Creek and Callaway.

“I am looking forward to getting to work at Prairie Island,” Younie said. “This is a great opportunity and I am excited about the future for the station and about supporting nuclear as an important part of Xcel Energy’s energy portfolio in the years ahead.”

Younie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering technology from Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan.

“As a newcomer to our plant, Chris will bring both his experience at Wolf Creek and Callaway with him, but also the broad vision he has gained as a leader on INPO plant evaluations,” said Kevin Davison, Prairie Island Site Vice President. “As we work toward our goals this year, another ambitious outage and head into a mode of continual improvement, I am confident that he will be a strong leader for Prairie Island.”

Chris Younie, new Prairie Island Plant Manager