Really? Hail, MICHIGAN?!

It starting to look like it.

Built back in the era of can-do/git-er-done, construction began on the Palisades plant (with its single combustion engineering pressurized water reactor) in March of 1967, and it was commissioned in December of 1971. Located on the shores of Lake Michigan in Covert, MI, the 50+ year-old Palisades facility has been shuttered since May of 2022, when the reactor ran out of fuel and Entergy sold it to a firm out of Florida called Holtec.

…Palisades Power Plant was shut down permanently by Entergy on May 20, 2022, after providing safe and reliable electricity to southwest Michigan for more than 50 years. In June of 2022, Palisades was purchased by Holtec International for purposes of a safe and timely decommissioning of the site….The deal enables decommissioning and site release for alternate uses decades sooner than previously anticipated. As Palisades enters into this new chapter, its commitment to the safety of its employees, community, and environment remains unchanged.

Palisades was purchased initially with plans tear the whole thing down – that’s what Holtec does. Somewhere along the way, though, Holtec – encouraged by the help of Gov Gretchen Whitmer, the MI legislature, and available healthy nuclear subsidies – began to rethink the entire demolition idea. A year later – this June, in fact – Holtec first floated the idea of resurrecting the plant.

A company that tears down closed nuclear power plants wants to do in Michigan what has never been done in the U.S.: restore a dead one to life.

Holtec Decommissioning International bought the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station last June for the stated purpose of dismantling it, weeks after previous owner Entergy shut it down. Fuel was removed from the reactor core. Federal regulators were notified of “permanent cessation of power operations.”

But with support from Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and leaders in the Lake Michigan community where Palisades was an economic driver for 50 years, Holtec soon kicked off a campaign to bring the plant back. The 800 megawatt facility had generated roughly 5% of the state’s electricity.

…Holtec says a primary reason for its about-face on Palisades was a $6 billion federal initiative to prolong older nuclear facilities, part of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure law.

Palisades was turned down in the first round of Department of Energy Nuclear Credit Program approvals (Diablo Canyon in CA received a stay of execution in that), but owners were told not to despair – there would be other chances and avenues to reapply.

…Palisades was turned down. But the department emphasized that recently shuttered plants would be eligible in the next round. Instead, Holtec is applying for about $1 billion in federal loans under a different program that’s “a better fit,” spokesman Patrick O’Brien said.

Some folks in the area, understandably, were far from thrilled at the news of the proposed plans, arguing that the plant was far too old and dangerous to be resuscitated. But, for all the talk of maintenance issues (and it surely had them), it certainly seemed to have a decent safety record based on the accolades it received and was an economic boon to the area as well.

…Construction of the 432-acre Palisades site began in 1967 and was completed three years later. Between 1970 and 2022, the plant consistently achieved the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s highest safety ratings while producing record-breaking production goals, and it was recognized by the industry for its high performance.

Beyond local permanent jobs, plant operations require an additional 1,000 specialty workers every 18 months for scheduled refueling and maintenance. Its shutdown in 2022 led to the loss of more than 700 jobs and over $200 million in economic activity in three Michigan counties. Overall tax benefits lost since the plant’s closure in Michigan’s Van Buren County are estimated to top $10 million annually.

For Holtec’s part, they certainly haven’t let the grass grow under their feet in the intervening months since the initial rejection and have charged forward on the project. Yesterday, the company announced a major partnership with another utility to purchase the electricity produced at the plant.

The company that owns the Palisades nuclear plant announced that it will restart the 800-megawatt power plant in a deal with Wolverine Power Cooperative.

The facility stands to become the first decommissioned nuclear plant to be fired back up in the entire United States.

Holtec International said on Tuesday, Sept. 12, that it entered a long-term power purchase agreement with Wolverine, which committed to buy up to two-thirds of the nuclear energy generated at the facility in Covert Township. Rural electric cooperative project partner Hoosier Energy will purchase the balance.

…Michigan lawmakers included $150 million toward the effort to restart the Palisades nuclear plant as part of a record $81.7 billion state budget recently passed. The application for federal nuclear program dollars remains pending.

The agreements are a huge step in the right direction and a great deal for the local utilities involved, especially considering the staggering fact that the state – the STATE – of Michigan depends on power IMPORTS an unbelievable 88% of the time.

That’s unconscionable. And pretty detrimental to the “everyone needs an EV and a heat pump” crowd.

…Once plant acquisition was completed last December, Holtec began working toward a restart, and the power purchase agreements are a significant milestone toward reopening the plant.

…The power purchase agreements commit Wolverine to take the bulk of the plant’s energy production after its restart, with Hoosier Energy receiving the balance.

…Once the plant is recommissioned, 23 distribution co-ops serving more than 1 million homes in 64 Midwestern counties will have access to more reliable and sustainable baseload electricity.

“Palisades plays a vital role in Michigan’s energy landscape, particularly since our state depends on power imports up to 88% of the time,” said Wolverine’s Baker. “In the short term, restarting the plant before impending coal plant retirements is essential to maintaining electric reliability. Looking ahead, Palisades offers one long-term solution to provide price stability, reliability and a path towards decarbonization.”

Getting those ducks in a row as they wait on the government approval and the BIG BUCKS.

Update: the nuclear energy buyer is Wolverine Power Cooperative, a nonprofit energy retailing corporation serving lower Michigan.

It's meaningful that the loudly virtuous tech firms weren't the ones to do this. Good old electricity co-ops were responsible for this low-carbon win pic.twitter.com/SALFB8OF1a

— Mark Nelson (@energybants) September 12, 2023

I think it’s all pretty exciting. Right up to where the neighbors start the lawsuits.

And you know they’re going to.

I sure hope they glow right over them.