Holtec International has submitted a filing with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to formally begin the process of seeking federal reauthorization of power operations at the 800-megawatt Palisades Power Plant in Covert Township, Michigan.
“This filing follows a series of public meetings with NRC staff to lay out the path to reauthorize the repowering of Palisades within the Agency’s existing regulatory framework,” the company said on Oct. 6.
Following Holtec’s acquisition of the Palisades Power Plant in June 2022, the plant is now on track to become the first successfully restarted nuclear power plant in the United States, the company said.
In early 2023, Holtec applied to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office for federal loan funding to repower Palisades.
The company said it is working cooperatively with DOE to move the loan application process forward.
On July 31, 2023, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed into law the State of Michigan’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget, which provides $150 million in funding for the plant’s restart.
And on September 12, 2023, Holtec jointly announced a multi-decades long power purchase agreement with Michigan rural electric cooperative Wolverine Power Cooperative for the sale of Palisades’s power output.
