Michigan Governor Includes Another $150M for Palisades Nuclear Plant Reopening
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed budget includes $150 million to support the reopening of the Palisades Nuclear plant, with the federal government potentially offering a $1.5 billion loan to aid the effort. If successful, Palisades would become the first nuclear plant in the U.S. to be restarted, contingent on federal funding.
According to Power Engineering, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has included another $150 million for the reopening of the Palisades Nuclear plant in the the state’s latest proposed budget.
This comes following reports that the federal government intends to offer a $1.5 billion loan to Holtec International to restart the plant. Palisades would be the first successfully restarted nuclear plant in the U.S. if the plan is fulfilled.
The proposed budget includes a one-time general fund for a $150 million targeted investment to support efforts to reopen the 800 MW plant in Covert Township, Michigan, following the initial $150 million approved for the 2023 budget. Holtec International bought the plant in 2022 and has applied for federal dollars to help get the plant running again.
In early 2023, Holtec applied with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office for federal loan funding to repower Palisades, and the Biden Administration has expressed support for extending the lives or even restarting large nuclear plants. These facilities have been retiring over the last decade because of competition from cheaper natural gas and renewables.
There is currently a $6 billion fund aimed at supporting the continued operation of U.S. nuclear plants or the reviving of already closed ones. The Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) Program was born out of the infrastructure bill signed into law in November 2021.
Any restart of Palisades is contingent on federal dollars coming through. Holtec officials have been quoted as saying it would take hundreds of millions of dollars for facility renovations and to buy nuclear fuel.
Holtec will officially be offered the federal loan as soon as next month, sources told Bloomberg.
In September 2023, Holtec and Wolverine Power Cooperative announced the signing of a long-term power purchase agreement, where Wolverine would purchase up to two-thirds of the power generated by Palisades for its Michigan-based member rural electric cooperatives. Indiana-based Hoosier Energy, another G&T Cooperative, would purchase the rest.
