Palisades to receive $3B in federal, state funding to fuel plant restart
Nuclear stakeholders celebrate “powerful clean energy comeback story”
With a $1.52 billion loan from the Department of Energy and $1.3 billion in grants to rural electric cooperatives near the plant, the ambitious plans to restart Michigan’s Palisades nuclear plant next fall are moving ahead.
Holtec International bought the plant in 2022 with plans to decommission the site but changed course and began lobbying state and federal agencies for support to give Palisades new life. In combination with $300 million from the state of Michigan, Holtec has secured more than $3.1 billion to advance the project.
If successful, Palisades would be the first U.S. nuclear plant to come back on line after entering the retirement and decommissioning phase. The plans are still subject to Nuclear Regulatory Commission review and licensing.
Quotable: “Nuclear power is America’s largest source of carbon-free of electricity, supporting hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs across the country and will play a critical role in tackling the climate crisis and protecting public health and the environment from its impacts,” said energy secretary Jennifer Granholm.
White House national climate advisor Ali Zaidi said, “It’s a powerful clean energy comeback story that represents a chance to build our manufacturing capacity and rebuild our middle class. Today’s announcement—which will catalyze the first recommissioning of a nuclear power plant in U.S. history —create hundreds of long-term union jobs, support workforce development, and feed our nation’s energy demand while reducing emissions.”
“This is the playbook for how Michigan, and America, wins the future,” Zaidi added.
Surge in support: Rising energy needs across the U.S. and around the world have prompted renewed interest in reliable, baseload nuclear power. At the COP28 climate conference in 2023, an international contingent (including the U.S.) pledged support for tripling nuclear energy capacity by 2050.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts global energy demand to increase 47 percent in the next 30 years.
Deputy secretary of energy David M. Turk, Department of Agriculture deputy secretary Xochitl Torres Small, and Zaidi today joined local, state, and labor leaders for a tour of Holtec Palisades Training Center.
A closer look: Located in Covert, Mich., the Palisades 800-MWe reactor can provide enough electricity to power 800,000 homes. As part of Holtec’s push to bring the plant back on line, the company has applied for a license extension that would allow operations until at least 2051. The company also hopes to get approval to build small modular reactors on the Palisades site.
Bringing Palisades back into operation is expected to create or retain up to 600 permanent jobs at the Michigan plant. An additional 1,000 workers would also be needed every 18 months to facilitate regularly scheduled refueling and maintenance periods.
Restoring Palisades will also help avoid an anticipated 4.47 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, for a total of 111 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions avoided during the projected 25 years of operations, according to the DOE.
Partnering with co-ops: The USDA aims to lower energy costs for rural communities with grant funding from the new Empowering Rural America program.
Wolverine Power Cooperative is being awarded more than $650 million to purchase approximately 435 MW of wholesale energy from Palisades to serve its members throughout rural Michigan. Hoosier Energy is being awarded more than $675 million to offset the cost of purchasing approximately 370 MW from Palisades to serve its members in Illinois and Indiana.
As nonprofit wholesale electric suppliers owned by their customers and members, Wolverine and Hoosier Energy will pass 100 percent of the New ERA grant funds directly through to the homes and businesses served by their member electric cooperatives.
Secretary of agriculture Tom Vilsack said, “We can continue supporting a more prosperous future for rural communities by accelerating the transition to clean energy, keeping monthly bills low for American families and investing in a strong rural workforce.”
What’s next: The project plans are under review by multiple federal and state agencies.
As part of the process, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy is holding a virtual public hearing from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (EDT) on Tuesday, October 1, to provide information and take comments on the proposed reissuance of a surface water permit for Palisades.
Register for the Zoom event here.
