Holtec receives $400M to create two new reactors at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant
Holtec International, the company behind the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant restart in Covert, has received $400 million from the federal government to aid in the construction of two small modular reactors (SMR), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced Tuesday.
Specifically, Holtec said the money is going to go towards the licensing, pre-construction, and supply-chain mobilization of two SMR-300 nuclear reactors. These reactors will generate 600 megawatts of energy in addition to the 800 megawatts already being generated at the plant, according to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office.
Nick Culp, Holtec’s senior manager of government affairs and communications, said all that extra energy would be enough to generate power to 1.4 million homes.
Holtec has dubbed the future twin-unit SMR-300 plant as “PIONEER 1&2,” or the Pioneer reactors. The $400 million was given as part of the DOE’s “First Mover Team Support” award under the federal government’s Generation III+ Small Modular Reactor Pathway to Deployment Program.
After being shut down in 2022, Palisades became the first power plant in American history to undergo the process of reactivation. Holtec has since received a $1.52 billion loan agreement from the DOE as well as over $1.3 billion from U.S. Department of Agriculture. Wolverine Power Cooperative has also granted more than $650 million “to reduce the cost of power produced at Palisades,” officials said.
The plant officially transitioned from decommission status to operations status in August, and received their first assemblies of nuclear fuel in October. There are currently 600 full-time jobs that have either been created or retained as of December.
“Today’s announcement will lower energy costs, reaffirm Michigan’s clean energy leadership, and show the world that we are the best place to do business,” Whitmer said. “This historic investment will double Palisades’ capacity, provide more clean energy for Michigan homes and businesses, and protect good-paying Michigan jobs.”
The installation of the new SMR-300s would create an additional 300 full-time, local jobs and support more than 2,000 jobs during peak construction, according to Culp.
Though the operation has support from from both state and federal officials, some environmental groups and area residents are against the restart.
Environmental groups Beyond Nuclear, Don’t Waste Michigan, and Michigan Safe Energy Future are contesting an exemption request from Holtec in a federal lawsuit filed in November.
The groups argue that the National Regulatory Commission (NRC) — an agency that has been working with Holtec to reopen the plant — has created fake regulatory pathways to allow the restart.
Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear’s radioactive waste specialist, told News Channel 3 on Nov. 17 that the reopening process has been rushed and is irresponsible, as well as illegal. He also claimed the power plant has outdated, deteriorating machinery and equipment that Holtec and the NRC have not accounted for, including steam generator tubes.
In August, FEMA was joined by Michigan State Police, the NRC, and officials from Van Buren County as well as surrounding counties in hosting a press conference to discuss the high level of coordination involved in the unprecedented move of bringing a decommissioned plant back online.
During the conference, some residents voiced their concerns about being exposed to radiation and what would happen in the event of nuclear catastrophe.
“What do I do, what do we do if we hear that horn or get that message?” one resident asked in August. “We jump in our car and race down the roads?”
Kamps, who was also in attendance, expressed his fears as well.
“I hope and pray the night before Hiroshima’s 80th annual commemoration that the worst doesn’t happen here,” Kamps previously said. “But I fear that it just might.”
Once the plant fully returns to service, Holtec is licensed to operate through at least 2031, according to Culp.
Though an official date has not been set, Culp told News Channel 3 they are hoping to reopen in early 2026 and that “the plant will return once all restart activities are complete to support long-term safe, reliable operation.”