USA: Reopening of Palisades nuclear power plant raises serious doubts

The reopening of the Palisades nuclear power plant, backed by a $1.52 billion conditional loan, raises major safety concerns.

Share:

The Palisades nuclear power plant, located in Michigan, is at the heart of an intense debate concerning its reopening after its closure in 2022.
Holtec International, the plant’s new buyer, has secured a conditional $1.52 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to restart the facility.
However, safety concerns remain, raised by a former plant engineering manager.

Safety & Exemptions

Alan Blind, former Director of Engineering at Palisades from 2006 to 2013, expressed his concerns about the safety exemptions granted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) prior to the plant’s closure.
These exemptions allowed Palisades not to comply with certain modern safety standards, such as preventing clogging of cooling systems, earthquake defense and fire risk reduction.

Holtec International Rehabilitation Plan

Holtec International plans to rehabilitate and restart Palisades within a year.
The company is committed to thorough inspections, testing and system upgrades to ensure safe and reliable operation.
The NRC will review these plans to ensure they meet safety and environmental requirements.
NRC spokesman Scott Burnell said the review will include an analysis of technical issues left unresolved when the plant was shut down.

NRC’s position

The NRC will insist on the resolution of all safety issues before authorizing the reopening of Palisades.
An opportunity to legally challenge Holtec’s applications will be offered to the public, in line with standard procedure.
This transparency is designed to ensure that public safety remains a top priority.

Impact on the nuclear industry

The reopening of Palisades is being closely watched by the nuclear industry, as it could set a precedent for other closed plants, such as Three Mile Island, owned by Constellation Energy.
The Biden administration supports efforts to restart closed nuclear power plants, seeing nuclear power as a crucial tool in the fight against climate change.
These efforts also include delaying the retirement of existing plants and accelerating the approval of new projects.

Economic and environmental impact

Entergy, former owner of Palisades, supports the reopening, although the plant was shut down in May 2022, two weeks ahead of schedule, due to a technical problem with a control rod.
The closure took place despite a $6 billion federal program to rescue ailing nuclear power plants facing rising costs and competition from natural gas and renewables.
The Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, which made the conditional loan to Holtec, referred safety issues to the NRC.
This situation illustrates the complex challenges of rehabilitating aging nuclear infrastructure, while ensuring public safety and economic viability.
The future of the Palisades nuclear power plant is emblematic of the challenges facing the nuclear industry as it attempts to reconcile safety imperatives, economic considerations and environmental objectives.
The resolution of safety issues will be critical to the reopening of the plant, and could influence future nuclear policy in the United States.

Tehran agrees to reopen its nuclear facilities to the IAEA, aiming to resume negotiations with Washington, while Moscow pushes for a “zero enrichment” agreement without getting involved in supervision.
TerraPower has selected three new American suppliers for its advanced Natrium nuclear reactor, confirming progress on the project located in Kemmerer, Wyoming, intended to replace a retiring coal-fired power plant.
Energy Exploration Technologies acquires Daytona Lithium, an Australian subsidiary of Pantera Lithium, for AUD40mn ($27mn), bringing its strategic lithium basin footprint in Smackover, USA to nearly 50,000 acres.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has identified no major barriers to licensing the ARC-100 reactor, announces ARC Clean Technology.
SE Ignalina, the Lithuanian nuclear operator, has signed a memorandum of understanding with French firm Newcleo to explore the integration of small modular reactors (SMRs) using lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR) technology in Lithuania.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi oversaw the signing of new agreements for the construction of the El Dabaa nuclear power plant, thus strengthening the strategic cooperation between Egypt and Russia.
Vistra Corp receives green light to extend Perry nuclear plant operations in Ohio by 20 years, securing regional electricity supply until 2046 and ensuring operational continuity for all its nuclear reactors in the United States.
EDF will hold a 12.5% stake in the Sizewell C nuclear project in the UK, a €1.3 billion investment announced during Emmanuel Macron’s official visit to London, confirming the strategic nuclear energy alignment between the two countries.
The French Cigéo project, designed to bury the most hazardous radioactive waste deep underground, obtains a crucial technical validation before its final authorization, expected by the end of 2027.
EDF confirms the continuation of its industrial project in Fessenheim for recycling very low-level radioactive metals, a first in France requiring specific regulatory authorizations, following a public debate concluded last February.
NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. formalizes its collaboration with UrAmerica Ltd. to strengthen Argentina’s uranium supply, aiming to secure future nuclear fuel supply chains for the U.S. market.
American companies SHINE Technologies and Standard Nuclear partner to recycle uranium and plutonium, supplying advanced fuel to the nuclear reactor sector and enhancing the national energy security of the United States.
The American Bureau of Shipping and two nuclear sector companies are studying the potential deployment of floating nuclear power plants to meet the energy needs of island and coastal regions in the Mediterranean, notably via electricity and desalination.
Lithuania establishes a working group tasked with assessing the feasibility of modular nuclear reactors to meet electricity demand estimated at 74 TWh by 2050.
Framatome has secured two significant contracts from Electrabel covering modernisation and technical support for the Tihange 3 and Doel 4 nuclear reactors, as part of their extension agreed upon between Engie and the Belgian government.
Cairo is stepping up connection works for the planned 4,800 MW El-Dabaa nuclear plant, developed with Rosatom, to feed the grid from 2026 with output equal to about seven % of national electricity.
EDF extends Flamanville EPR's shutdown to August 13 to conduct technical checks on three valves of the reactor's primary circuit, initially scheduled to resume production this week.
The US Department of Energy has selected Westinghouse and Radiant Nuclear to conduct the first nuclear microreactor tests at the DOME experimental centre located in Idaho, with operational start expected in spring 2026.
GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy and Fortum announce partnership aimed at preparing for the potential deployment of small modular reactors in Finland and Sweden, with commissioning scheduled for the 2030s.
Energy Fuels Inc. announced record production of 638,700 pounds of uranium during the second quarter of 2025 at its Pinyon Plain mine in Arizona, significantly surpassing initial site performance forecasts.