Michigan’s shuttered nuclear power plant gets a $1.5 billion federal loan to restart operations by 2025 and could power at least 800,000 homes

A nuclear power plant in Michigan that was decommissioned in 2022 will become America’s first revived facility in the country’s history.

The Biden administration on Wednesday announced plans to provide a $1.52 billion loan to Holtect International, which could start in 2025 and provide clean energy to at least 800,000 homes.

The Palisades plant, located along Lake Michigan, was closed two years ago over concerns about faulty drive seals on the control rods needed to control the fission rates of uranium and plutonium.

However, the Department of Energy (DOE) awarded the funds on the condition that Holtect meets technical, legal, environmental and financial requirements.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said Wednesday: “Nuclear energy is our largest source of carbon-free electricity, directly supporting 100,000 jobs across the country and hundreds of thousands indirectly.

“President Biden’s Investing in America agenda supports and expands this vibrant clean energy population here in Michigan with significant funding for the Holtec Palisades nuclear power plant.”

The plant is located in Covert of Van Buren County, about 40 miles west of Kalamazoo, where about 3,000 people live.

The city covers thirty-five square kilometers, with dense forests and blueberry farms.

The plant is located in Covert of Van Buren County, about 40 miles west of Kalamazoo, where about 3,000 people live. The city covers thirty-five square kilometers, with dense forests and blueberry farms

The median income for a household in the township was $22,829, and the median income for a family was $28,586.

Florida-based Holtec said the plant would employ more than 600 workers, with about 45 percent of the site’s workforce coming from union labor once the plant restarts.

And another 1,000 jobs are expected to be added over time.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said, “Holtec today secured a $1.5 billion conditional loan commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy to reopen the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant, creating 600 good-paying, high-skill jobs and clean, reliable energy for 800,000 homes.

“Once open, Palisades will be the first successfully restarted nuclear power plant in U.S. history, generating $363 million in regional economic impact and helping Michigan lead the clean energy future.

“I am so grateful to my bipartisan partners in the Michigan Legislature, the Biden-Harris Administration, Holtec and Labor for coming together to get this done.

“Together we will show the world that Michigan is a place where history is made by hardworking people.”

The restarted Palisades plant would avoid more than 4.47 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually, bringing the total to 111 million metric tons of CO2 emissions over its expected 25 years of operation.

The Palisades plant, located along Lake Michigan, was closed two years ago over concerns about faulty drive seals on the control rods, which are needed to control the fission rates of uranium and plutonium.

This corresponds to the annual emissions resulting from taking more than 970,000 petrol cars off the road.

These predictions would play a key role in the government’s goal of decarbonizing the country’s electricity grid by 2035 and the entire economy by 2050.

The company also plans to build the first two small modular reactor units (SMR) at the site, which will not be part of the project eligible for the loan.

Holtec Palisades has entered into long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for all power production with the national electric cooperatives Wolverine Power Cooperative and Hoosier Energy in Michigan, Illinois and Indiana.

However, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission named Palisades one of the nation’s four worst-performing plants in 2012.

Construction of the factory began in 1967 and was connected to the electricity grid in 1971.