Palisades owners propose two new nuclear-powered generators - WOODTV.com
New state-of-the-art reactors planned for Michigan
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — New plans for a West Michigan nuclear power plant could help our state meet its new energy goals and help revitalize shuttered plants across the country.
Holtec International, the company that bought the recently decommissioned Palisades Nuclear Generating Station said it has plans to bring the plant’s 800-megawatt reactor back online. After that, they want to bring two additional state-of-the-art 300-megawatt nuclear-powered generators to the Lake Michigan coast.
The combined 1,400 megawatts of clean energy would be a vital addition to the power grid as our state prepares to shut down its seven remaining coal plants by the end of the decade and lose around 7,000 megawatts worth of power along with them.
Nationwide, nuclear energy is increasingly expected to be a major source of energy as a generational shift to clean energy takes place, and sites like Palisades have been cited as the place to make that happen.
The plant is in Van Buren County and sits about five miles south of the popular beach town of South Haven. Construction began in the 1960s, and the plant operated until it was decommissioned in 2022 after the machinery inside began to show its age, and the plant’s safety record steadily declined.
When the plant was closed it was quickly bought up by Holtec, which has been designing the next generation of small modular reactors for more than a decade. The new designs are still a few years away and they say the Palisades location will be the first in the country to use them.
This company immediately applied for federal funds to reopen the plant, citing a pre-existing waste storage facility as one of the main reasons to reopen a former site rather than build a new one. However, concern about more nuclear waste getting added into a storage facility so close to Lake Michigan remains a concern to area residents and national anti-nuclear groups.
Critics have also argued that using brand-new technology in tandem with 1960s-era infrastructure could present problems down the road, and say it will be up to the taxpayer for much of the construction.
Michigan energy officials have looked past much of these concerns, and have helped to secure $150 million in state funds to help restart the plant and have been assisting the company as it applies for an additional $1 billion in federal funds.
If the funds are secured, it would be the first time that a decommissioned plant has been brought back online. Current U.S. Energy Secretary, and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm says that she is hopeful that the loan is going to get approved.