Holtec planning to bring Michigan nuclear plant back online to produce power until at least 2051
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has said there is no significant environmental impact from the planned restart of the Palisades nuclear power station – the first restart of a commercial nuclear reactor in the US that had been shut down.
The NRC said in a statement it has issued the final environmental assessment for US-based Holtec International’s request to return the single-unit Palisades to an operational status.
The report contains the NRC staff’s evaluation and conclusion that there is no significant environmental impact from restarting Palisades, in Covert, Michigan.
The NRC conducted an environmental review with the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office.
Palisades permanently ceased operations in May 2022. Starting in late 2023, Holtec filed several licensing requests that, if approved, could return the plant to operational status.
The environmental review covered the scope of those licensing requests, considering new and significant information developed since an earlier October 2006 NRC review for Palisades’ licence renewal.
The DOE recently made a third loan disbursement to Holtec International to help with the company’s plan to restart the plant.
The Biden administration finalised an up to $1.52bn (€1.34bn) loan guarantee for the project in September 2024.
New Jersey-based Holtec has said it is on track to restart operations at Palisades in October and the NRC expects to issue a final decision on the required licensing actions by 31 July.
Holtec bought Palisades to decommission the facility, which had struggled to compete with natural gas-fired plants and renewable energy. But in early 2023, Holtec applied to the DOE for federal loan funding to repower the plant.
The single-unit 805-MW pressurised water reactor unit will be brought back online and upgraded to produce power until at least 2051.
In addition to the main 805 MW reactor, Holtec intends to use the Palisades site as the location for its first two small modular reactor units, which would potentially add an additional 800 MW of generation capacity.
