US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Secretary Chris Wright has announced the release of the sixth loan disbursement to Holtec to help fund the restart of the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert Township, Michigan. DOE said this disburses $155,944,659 of the up to $1.52bn loan guarantee to Holtec for Palisades, which will be the first restart of a US commercial nuclear reactor in decommissioning, subject to US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approvals.
In August, the plant officially transitioned from decommissioning to operational status under NRC oversight following approval of Holtec’s licensing package to reauthorise power operations.
The single-unit 800 MWe pressurised water reactor on the shores of Lake Michigan began commercial operation in 1971. In 2016 operator Entergy announced plans to close the plant. In 2021 NRC approved transfer of the licence from Entergy to Holtec in preparation for its decommissioning. The reactor was removed from service by Entergy in May 2022, and defueled, and its sale to Holtec completed in June 2022. However, Holtec then announced that it was applying for federal funding to allow restart of the plant.
“Under President Trump’s bold leadership, the United States is taking unprecedented steps to bring about the next American nuclear renaissance,” said Wright. “With projects like the Palisades Nuclear Plant, the Department of Energy is committed to lowering energy costs and increasing domestic energy production, delivering reliable, affordable and secure energy to the American people.”
This was Holtec’s sixth disbursement of funds from the Loan Programs Office (LPO) since the September 2024 announcement of the loan’s financial close. To date, $491,056,853 of DOE-guaranteed loan funds have been disbursed to Holtec as it continues to make progress toward plant restart.
DOE said the loan disbursement “reinforces the Energy Department’s leading role in advancing President Trump’s Executive Order 14302, Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base, through funding the restart of nuclear plants. DOE remains committed to use all tools at its disposal, including the LPO, to support projects that advance baseload energy sources, strengthen the grid, and lower costs for the American people”.
Meanwhile, neighbours of the nuclear plant in Van Buren County’s Covert Township continue to fight against the restart through a new petition filed with NRC. Earlier local residents requested a hearing over Holtec’s request to defer fire-safety modifications at the facility.
Opponents of the effort to restart the plant have criticized Holtec’s methods for repairing steam generator tubes at Palisades. Now, critics want a formal hearing to challenge plans to delay safety upgrades they argue have been required since 1986 to protect against reactor accidents caused by fire or loss of power.
Holtec spokesperson Nick Culp said the latest federal money shows the federal government’s commitment to making nuclear energy a cornerstone of America’s energy future. “With this support, our project continues to advance on track and within budget to restart Palisades,” he said. He added that the plant now has 600 full-time workers back on the payroll working toward restarting the plant. Another 1,000 specialty contractors and vendors are also working on site. The expectation is that the Palisades will be restarted by the end of this year.
