The U.S. Division of Power’s (DOE’s) Mortgage Applications Workplace (LPO) introduced a conditional dedication of as much as $1.52 billion for a mortgage assure to Holtec Palisades LLC to finance the restoration and resumption of service of the Palisades Energy Plant, an 800-MW nuclear producing station in Covert Township, Michigan (Determine 1).
The undertaking goals to deliver the single-reactor unit again into business operation by the top of 2025. It was retired by earlier proprietor Entergy in Could 2022. If finalized, Holtec Palisades could be the primary recommissioning of a shutdown nuclear energy plant within the U.S.
“Holtec is dedicated to serving to the nuclear and vitality industries meet challenges and discover options. Repowering Palisades helps guarantee we now have sufficient dependable, around-the-clock electrical energy to maintain the lights on for Michigan households and small companies whereas additionally serving to mitigate local weather change via secure, dependable, and carbon-free technology,” Nick Culp, Palisades Nuclear Producing Station’s senior supervisor for Governmental Affairs with Holtec Decommissioning Worldwide, instructed POWER. “Our repower efforts have been buoyed by the sturdy broad-based help this effort has obtained from our federal, state, and group companions who acknowledge the strategic significance of the plant to the state and nation’s clear vitality future.”
The DOE mentioned the Palisades undertaking highlights President Biden’s “Investing in America” agenda to “help good-paying, high-quality job alternatives in communities throughout the nation whereas additionally increasing entry to reasonably priced clear vitality sources.” The undertaking is predicted to help or retain as much as 600 jobs in Michigan––lots of them stuffed by employees who’ve been on the plant for greater than 20 years––with roughly 45% of the workforce on the web site being union labor upon restart. Along with the employees supported by the power’s restart, if finalized, the mortgage assure would help greater than 1,000 jobs throughout the facility’s often scheduled refueling and upkeep intervals each 18 months.
A Lengthy Historical past (to Be Continued?)
The Palisades facility has a protracted historical past. Plans for the plant’s development had been first introduced in January 1966. The station features a pressurized water reactor designed and manufactured by Combustion Engineering, and it has a Westinghouse turbine-generator. The architect-engineer/constructor was Bechtel Energy Corp.
Web site excavation started in August 1966, first concrete was poured in March 1967, and the reactor vessel was delivered to the location on Oct. 22, 1968. The primary nuclear chain response at Palisades occurred on Could 24, 1971, and the primary business energy technology passed off on Dec. 31, 1971. The unit has a most reliable capability of 798 MW, however its report hourly output was 821 MWh, which occurred on Jan. 15, 2006.
On the time of its closing shutdown, Entergy was the proprietor and operator of the plant. The corporate had bought it from Shoppers Power in April 2007 for $380 million. The acquisition additionally included receipt of the used gasoline at Shoppers’ decommissioned Massive Rock Level Nuclear Plant, situated in Charlevoix in northwestern Decrease Michigan. Entergy truly acquired a number of nuclear vegetation in areas the place wholesale markets operated after deregulation considerably modified the electrical business within the late Nineteen Nineties. At its peak, the corporate operated six service provider nuclear models, with about 5,000 MW of capability, together with 5 nuclear models in its regulated corporations, additionally representing about 5,000 MW.
However the service provider enterprise proved to be difficult for Entergy. In December 2016, Entergy proposed retiring the Palisades plant by 2018 as a part of a much bigger plan for the corporate to exit the service provider nuclear technology enterprise altogether. These plans modified in September 2017 after the Michigan Public Service Fee mentioned it will solely grant partial restoration ($136.6 million) of the $172 million Shoppers Power had requested for the buyout of an influence buy settlement it had with Entergy for Palisades’ output.
Palisades Shutdown and Transferred
Ultimately, Palisades was taken offline for the ultimate time on Could 20, 2022. The shutdown accomplished a record-setting run on the web site—the unit had repeatedly generated electrical energy for 577 consecutive days since its final refueling, which was additionally a world report for a plant of its form. Notably, Palisades was ranked within the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Fee’s (NRC’s) highest security class, and Entergy mentioned the station was regarded by its friends as one of many prime performers within the business.
Following the removing of used gasoline from the Palisades reactor, the power was transferred to Holtec Worldwide on June 28, 2022, “for functions of a secure and well timed decommissioning.” Holtec was anticipated to finish the dismantling, decontamination, and remediation of Palisades to NRC requirements by 2041.
But, efforts to save lots of the Palisades plant rapidly started. Holtec utilized for monetary help via the Civil Nuclear Credit score Program, a $6 billion fund designed to assist protect the prevailing U.S. reactor fleet and save 1000’s of high-paying jobs throughout the nation. This system was made potential by the passing of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Regulation. Holtec additionally obtained backing from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who wrote a letter to Power Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Sept. 9, 2022, in help of Holtec’s plans to repower and reopen Palisades.
In September 2023, Holtec and Wolverine Energy Cooperative, a not-for-profit energy technology cooperative, agreed on a long-term deal, with Wolverine committing to buy as much as two-thirds of the facility generated by Palisades for its Michigan-based member rural electrical cooperatives. Wolverine’s non-profit rural electrical cooperative undertaking companion, Hoosier Power, an alliance of 18 member cooperatives serving 59 counties throughout central and southern Indiana and southeastern Illinois, would buy the stability. At the moment’s announcement brings Palasades’ rebirth one other step nearer to fruition.
Pleasure Surrounds Recommissioning
“Palisades is coming again,” Gov. Whitmer mentioned in a press release issued to POWER by her press secretary. “Due to an efficient collaboration between the Biden-Harris administration, the State of Michigan, the Michigan Legislature, and Holtec, work will start shortly to restart operations at Palisades. As soon as full, Palisades will turn into the primary efficiently restarted nuclear energy plant in American historical past, defending 600 union jobs on the plant, 1,100 locally, and entry to wash, dependable energy for 800,000 properties. We are going to lead and construct the longer term right here in Michigan with our 100% clear vitality by 2040 customary, the strongest clear vitality labor requirements within the nation, and instruments to construct extra renewable vitality sooner. Let’s hold getting it finished.”
“Palisades’ carbon-free technology is important to each Michigan and the USA reaching their clear local weather targets whereas sustaining around-the-clock reliability to satisfy future demand,” added Culp. “The undertaking is anticipated to keep away from 4.47 million tons of CO2 emissions per yr—along with different noxious greenhouse gases—for a complete of 111 million tons of CO2 over the following 25 years.”
Along with the principle 800-MW reactor, Holtec has plans to make use of the Palisades web site as the situation for its first two small modular reactor (SMR) models, which won’t be a part of the undertaking which may be financed below this conditional dedication. The 2 models will probably add a further 800 MW of technology capability on the web site, reap the benefits of present infrastructure, and spur the home growth of latest reactor applied sciences, which the DOE says is important to combatting the local weather disaster.
Nonetheless, a lot work must be finished to deliver the prevailing unit again into service. “Since final yr, we now have participated in a sequence of public conferences with U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Fee workers on our proposed reauthorization of energy operations at Palisades. We’ve got made a number of key filings with the NRC to put out the trail to reauthorize the repowering of Palisades throughout the Company’s present regulatory framework. Amongst many issues, the repower entails rehiring the plant workforce, reestablishing our coaching program, and vital funding in plant inspections, preventative upkeep, upgrades, and modifications,” defined Culp.
There may be hope, nevertheless, that the work can progress pretty rapidly. “We stay on observe to repower the plant by the top of 2025, pending all crucial federal regulatory evaluations and approvals,” Culp mentioned. Upgrades are anticipated to maintain the Palisades unit in operations till at the least 2051, topic to NRC licensing approvals.
Detractors Persist
But, not everyone seems to be happy with the prospect of Palisades returning to service. The group Past Nuclear, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership group that “goals to coach and activate the general public concerning the connections between nuclear energy and nuclear weapons and the necessity to abandon each to safeguard our future,” issued a prolonged diatribe railing towards the Palisades undertaking.
“Underneath this rushed schedule, there is no such thing as a potential method for Holtec to finish all of the decades-long overdue system repairs, refurbishment, replacements, and safety-critical upgrades earlier proprietor Entergy by no means obtained round to, over the 15 years of its possession of Palisades, after which in the end merely walked away from. Given Palisades’ age-related degradation, a few of these wanted fixes, comparable to on the embrittled reactor stress vessel, are too costly and even not possible to do. These are the sorts of overwhelming challenges which have led to the record-breaking variety of atomic reactor shutdowns in North America up to now decade. Palisades ought to stay closed for good,” Kevin Kamps, a radioactive waste specialist with Past Nuclear, mentioned in a press launch issued by the group.
“Palisades has had a distinguished report of secure and dependable operation. On the time of shutdown, Palisades ranked within the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Fee’s highest security class, was acknowledged as a prime performing plant throughout the business, and accomplished consecutive record-breaking manufacturing runs. That’s each a testomony to the superb materials situation of the plant in addition to to the working expertise and {qualifications} of our plant workforce, who’re onsite and returning. Like all business nuclear vegetation in the USA, a repowered Palisades would proceed to function below the unbiased federal oversight of the Nuclear Regulatory Fee,” Culp countered.
“We’ve got been impressed with the U.S. Division of Power’s mortgage software course of. As a part of the mortgage software course of, the Palisades repower has undergone rigorous monetary, technical, authorized, and market evaluation by the U.S. Division of Power’s skilled workers, which incorporates certified engineers, monetary, and authorized consultants, in addition to professional third-party advisors,” he added.
Return to Service A lot Quicker Than New-Construct
As a result of the plant’s infrastructure already exists, the Palisades undertaking doesn’t contain conventional main development actions, however it would require inspections, testing, refurbishment, rebuilding, and substitute of present tools. Holtec is at the moment pursuing a reauthorization of the Palisades working license with the NRC, the Federal company accountable for regulating and licensing business nuclear energy vegetation within the U.S. Up to now, Holtec has submitted three NRC licensing requests in pursuit of license reauthorization and anticipates submitting the rest in spring 2024.
The LPO mentioned that whereas the conditional dedication demonstrates the DOE’s intent to finance the undertaking, Holtec should fulfill sure technical, authorized, environmental, and monetary situations earlier than the Division enters into definitive financing paperwork and funds the mortgage.
—Aaron Larson is POWER’s govt editor (@POWERmagazine).