Holtec International has submitted its first construction permit application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for two SMR-300s, Pioneer 1&2, at the Palisades Energy Centre (PEC) in Covert, Michigan. This is the first part of an application for a construction permit application and represents a step up from the pre-licensing topical reports and white papers that have been submitted thus far.
Part 1 includes a request for a limited work authorisation (LWA), multiple exemptions to authorise certain construction activities prior to issuance of a full construction permit and a comprehensive environmental report (ER). Holtec has requested that NRC review and approve its application by 31 December.
The approval will allow Holtec to begin construction of the dual-unit SMR-300 planned to be located adjacent to the Palisades Nuclear Plant. Holtec is restarting the plant after receiving approval from the NRC to change its status from decommissioning to operating. Construction of the twin SMRs is expected to be completed in the early 2030s.
Plans to restart the single unit 800 MWe pressurised water reactor a Palisades by the end of 2025 have been postponed to the first quarter in 2026. Even with the delay, it will still be the first US nuclear power plant brought back from decommissioning status.
Two other NPPs, Crane Clean Energy Centre in Pennsylvania and Duane Arnold in Iowa, are also being restarted by their respective utility owners and operators. The Crane site is expected back online in 2027. Duane Arnold is targeting late 2028 or early 2029 for its expected restart date.
The apparent reason for the delay at the Palisades site is continuing work on the steam generating system. In 2024 the inspection of the steam generator identified a large number of the tubes had defects including cracks in them. Holtec’s corrective action involves inserting sleeves in the damaged tubes which addresses the problem. Holtec confirmed in press statements that completion of this work and other unspecified project actions are the reason for the delay.
