Palisades gets another $46.7M in federal money, continues to eye fall 2025 for historic restart
Posted By: Toledo Blade on April 25, 2025. For more information, please click here to read the source article.
Holtec International took “another major step forward” in the historic effort to restart the mothballed Palisades nuclear plant in southwest Michigan this week with the U.S. government’s release of another $46.7 million of tax money for the project, a company official said.
Nick Culp, Holtec Palisades senior manager of government affairs and communications, told The Blade the company remains on schedule for its anticipated restart in late fall 2025.
No nuclear plant has ever been put back into service after being shut down and put into its decommissioning, or dismantling, phase. Palisades immediately entered its decommissioning phase in May of 2022 when its previous owner, Entergy, took it offline for what was supposed to be a permanent shutdown. It cited operation costs as the reason.
Holtec, though, which was hired to do the decommissioning, later bought the plant and obtained massive government support to put it back into service. It has never operated a nuclear plant. But in addition to millions from the state of Michigan, at the urging of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the project received a $1.52 billion loan guarantee from the former Biden administration.
Some experts questioned if the Trump Administration would keep the cash flowing. President Trump is a big proponent of nuclear power, but has also spent many of his early days in office undoing Biden initiatives and cutting back on government programs and staffing.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s release of another $46.7 million for Holtec this week, though, has quelled those concerns. It is the third loan disbursement of the $1.52 billion the Biden administration committed to Holtec.
“In advancing President Trump’s commitment to meet our growing demand for affordable, reliable, and secure electricity, America needs to utilize all forms of energy that grow our economy, create new jobs, and secure energy independence,” U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement issued Tuesday. “With projects like the Palisades nuclear plant, the Energy Department is working to ensure America’s nuclear renaissance is just around the corner.”
The money is coming from the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office, or LPO.
“The U.S. Department of Energy announcement marks another major step forward in our effort to return Palisades to service later this year — bringing 800 megawatts of safe, reliable baseload power back to the grid and supporting hundreds of high-paying, highly skilled American jobs,” Mr. Culp told The Blade in an emailed statement. “It underscores the critical role nuclear plays in meeting our domestic energy needs, strengthening U.S. energy security, and reaffirming America’s position as the global energy leader.”
On Wednesday night, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission — the federal agency in charge of inspections, oversight, and the ultimate decision over whether the proposed restart will be authorized — held its latest in a series of public meetings to provide an update from the regulator’s point of view.
On-site inspections are being led by April Nguyen, the NRC’s Palisades research team leader. The NRC had her working at the plant from 2011 to 2018, first as a resident inspector and later as a senior resident inspector.
She said during the meeting there is a strong focus on components inside the aging plant, as well as the training of those workers who are tasked with taking corrective actions when needed.
“We look at all that information as well to make sure that those items are addressed appropriately prior to the system being declared ready to either perform its function or to operate,” Ms. Nguyen said.
Van Buren County Administrator John Faul said it “was very comforting to see” the commitment to safety during a tour he and others took of the plant.
But Anne Scott, a resident of nearby Palisades Park since 1956, is among those who have expressed concerns about the possible restart.
She told the NRC she is appealing to it once again “to use common sense.”
“This plant closed,” Ms. Scott said. “This is an undue safety risk to even consider reopening it again.”
NRC spokesman Viktoria Mitlyng told The Blade that the agency’s restart panel “has not identified additional issues of concern.”
Terry Lodge, a Toledo-based lawyer and activist, said he and other attorneys plan to appeal a 71-page ruling issued earlier this month in which the NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board voted 2-1 to deny their request for a full hearing. Mr. Lodge is representing a coalition of activist groups, including Beyond Nuclear, Don’t Waste Michigan, Michigan Safe Energy Future, Three Mile Island Alert, and the Nuclear Energy Information Service.
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