The Palisades Nuclear Plant is one step closer to becoming the first decommissioned nuclear power plant in the United States to reopen, as federal regulators have completed and approved all licensing actions related to the restart. 

On Thursday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved Holtec International’s request to transition the Palisades Nuclear Plant from a decommissioning status back to operational. This is the first time a U.S. nuclear plant has received such an approval.

Recommended Stories

• Biden's legislative legacy undercut by Trump repeal of IRA climate measures
• FEMA chief 'can’t see anything that we did wrong' in Texas flood response
• Trump Energy Department cancels loan for major transmission project opposed by Hawley

“This is a proud and historic moment for our team, for Michigan, and for the United States,” Holtec
International President Kelly Trice said in a statement. “The NRC’s approval to transition Palisades back to an operating license represents an unprecedented milestone in U.S. nuclear energy. Our mission remains clear: to restart Palisades safely, securely, reliably, and in support of America’s energy future – while supporting local jobs and economic growth for decades to come.”

The decision will allow the western Michigan plant to receive new fuel and transition its licensed reactor operators to on-shift status. The 800-megawatt plant is poised to receive and load the fuel as soon as Aug. 25. 

In May, the NRC released a final environmental assessment related to the project, in which regulators determined the restart would have no significant environmental effects. 

There are still several steps Holtec must take before restarting the shuttered plant, including receiving approval for its repairs to the plant’s steam generators. 

It was revealed late last year that more than 1,000 tubes connected to the steam generators, which turn water heated by the nuclear reactor into steam that is later converted into electricity, were damaged by stress corrosion cracking due to the materials’ age. 

Rather than replacing the damaged tubes entirely, Holtec said it would use a “sleeving” technique, which involved coating the tubes with metal sleeves to cover any damage. 

Critics of the restart have blasted this technique as a Band-Aid solution, claiming it will not prevent any future damage to the unaffected tubes. 

The NRC is expected to finish reviewing the request to use the technique by the end of September and has confirmed that it is monitoring Holtec’s activities regarding the repairs.

Beyond Nuclear, an environmental nonprofit organization that has sought to delay the restart, criticized federal regulators earlier this week for allowing the repairs to take place during the licensing process. The group pointed to a restart inspection report from federal regulators earlier this month that indicates inspectors observed sleeving activities between May and June of this year. 

“It appears that Holtec could well already be rushing ahead with the sleeving of dangerously degraded steam generator tubes, even though our legal challenge against the adequacy of that proposed band-aid fix is still underway at the NRC licensing board,” Wally Taylor, an attorney representing Beyond Nuclear, said in a statement Monday.

The Palisades Nuclear Plant first opened on New Year’s Eve in 1971 and was operational for more than 50 years before it closed in May 2022. One month later, Holtec International purchased the plant from former owner Entergy and quickly moved forward with restarting it. 

The restart efforts have received overwhelming support from federal and state officials, including through hundreds of millions of dollars worth of federal loans distributed by the Department of Energy. 

While there is also broad support among those living in communities near the facility, those in the immediate vicinity are less than thrilled that they will soon see steam rising from the cooling towers once again. Their concerns are primarily related to the environmental health risks associated with living just yards away from nuclear waste. 

Bruce Davis and his wife, Karen, retired to a home less than a mile away from the Palisades Nuclear Plant. 

NATIONAL LAB TAPS MICROSOFT AI TO ACCELERATE NUCLEAR ENERGY PERMITTING

The couple has long worried about their proximity to the plant, as Karen and two other family members were diagnosed with thyroid cancer within months of each other in the early 2000s. Karen and her family have been traveling to the area since before the plant was built. 

“I’m scared,” Karen told the Washington Examiner in January. “I’ve got a granddaughter, she’s coming over today. I babysit for her a lot, and I don’t want to expose her to anything like this.”