The long talked-abpit restart of the Palisades Nuclear Power plant at Covert seems closer to reality after announcements today that secure the funding of the construction and update projects at the plant, as well as federal subsidies to rural electric cooperatives that will purchase the power generated by Palisades. The Palisades restart is expected to be an economic boost for Van Buren County and Southwest Michigan, driving several hundred permanent new jobs.
The Department of Energy, through its Loan Programs Office (LPO), announced the closing of a loan guarantee of up to $1.52 billion under the Inflation Reduction Act’s Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) program to Holtec Palisades to help finance the restoration and resumption of service of the 800-MW nuclear generating station that was shut down in 2022.
This represents a first of a kind effort by DOE to restart an American nuclear power plant—generating carbon pollution-free energy and saving and expanding a union workforce in Michigan while helping strengthen America’s nuclear energy sector and advance core climate and domestic energy goals.
The USDA also announced more than $1.3 billion in Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program awards for two rural electric cooperatives––Wolverine Power Cooperative and Hoosier Energy––to reduce the cost of electricity passed on to their members for clean power from Holtec Palisades and other clean energy sources.
Holtec and DOE officials say Tte Palisades Nuclear Plant, will be brought back online and upgraded to produce clean baseload power until at least 2051, subject to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing approvals. The NRC also issued new guidance to ensure the restart is performed safely and to high standards. Once complete, this project will be the first recommissioning of a retired nuclear power plant in U.S. history.
Dr. Kris Singh is the founder and CEO of Holtec International, which purchased Palisades several years ago. Singh commented today:
“This loan is more than just a financial transaction: It is a signal of confidence in the vital role that nuclear energy will play in securing a clean, sustainable, and reliable energy future. For Michigan, this means the revitalization of the Palisades plant, ensuring that hundreds of high-paying, permanent jobs are returning to this community that will underpin stability and growth for decades to come.
While today’s celebration focuses on Palisades’s restart, it also paves the way for an even larger transformation—the deployment of small modular reactors, or SMRs, which we are targeting to launch right here in Michigan. With our industry-leading partners, we are pioneering a new era of nuclear energy that is more adaptable, efficient, and scalable to meet the energy demands of the future. From the explosive growth of AI and data storage to the rapid expansion of electric vehicles and advanced manufacturing, Michigan – as the soon-to-be home of world’s first SMRs – will be at the forefront of our nation’s clean energy transition. Nuclear energy remains central to meeting our nation’s clean energy goals, providing the stable, baseload power that will be needed in ever larger quantities to replace carbon emitting generation”.
The restart of Holtec Palisades is projected to create or retain up to 600 high-quality jobs in Southwest Michigan––many of them filled by workers who have been at the plant for more than 20 years–– with approximately 45% of the workforce at the site being what Holtec calls “good-paying union labor” upon restart.
In addition to the workers supported by the facility’s restart, the loan guarantee will support more than 1,000 jobs during the facility’s regularly scheduled refueling and maintenance periods every 18 months. Holtec Palisades has a project labor agreement in place with 15 trade unions that are supporting the project.
A clear timeline for the project has not been released, however 2026 has been mentioned as the earliest possible date for a re-start of generation at the plant.
