In a global first, a nuclear power plant in tiny Covert Township, Michigan, will be restarted to produce energy

Holtec Palisades is an 800-megawatt facility that is being prepared for a second chance.
(Holtec Palisades photo)

Covert Township, Michigan, has a way to make more green electricity than most small towns could ever dream up. The quiet community of 2,510 people is home to the Palisades Nuclear Generating Plant, which was closed in 2022, but has been given the green light to reopen, reports Eric Niiler of The Wall Street Journal. "When it reopens, Palisades will become the first decommissioned nuclear plant anywhere to be put back to work."

The Palisades Nuclear plant may look like a 1970s relic, but the federal government and the state of Michigan are working together to finance the reactor's second life. The reasons to reignite the plant are simple: "Soaring demand . . . and billions on offer in state and federal loans and tax subsidies for nuclear energy in infrastructure and green power investment programs, "Niiler explains. "Nuclear-produced electricity is also seen as more consistent than wind or solar."

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The residents of Covert and surrounding areas have had mixed responses to reopening plans. "Beyond Nuclear filed a petition last week asking the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a hearing to make their case against the restart of the plant," reports Dustin Dwyer of Michigan Public Radio. "Despite the opposition. . . The plan to restart Palisades has gotten broad support from local leaders. . . .The Covert Township board passed a resolution supporting the restart, and so has the city council in nearby South Haven."

Meanwhile, the company in charge of the Palisades' return to power, Holtec, has "experience only in decommissioning nuclear reactors. Restarting and operating Palisades would be its first such job," Niiler reports. Adam Eastridge, a senior operations manager for Holtec, told Niiler, "Being the first to restart a decommissioned nuclear plant, everybody is looking at us. We don’t let that distract us.”