ClearView Energy Partners, a nonpartisan research group, said the process to save the plant is “obscure at best”.
Holtec International purchased the 805-megawatt Palisades plant in May in order to decommission it, a long and expensive process.
But with renewed interest in virtually emission-free power generation, Holtec applied for funding under a Department of Energy (DOE) program to keep the plant running.
In an address letter https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/news/press-releases/2022/09/09/whitmer-announces-plan-with-holtec-to-reopen-palisades-plant Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer last week urged U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm – herself a former Michigan governor – to keep Palisades open in order to save the plant’s 600 well-paying union jobs and 1,100 local jobs that it supports.
If the DOE provides funding from its $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) program, it could “potentially reactivate” the plant to help meet energy needs until a new generation of small modular reactors , or SMR, be ready, Holtec said in a statement. Holtec hopes to have its SMR technology in use by 2030, but it remains unclear where it will be deployed.
ClearView Energy Partners, however, said the Palisades closure is “likely permanent”.
The plant is out of nuclear fuel, has a control rod drive joint problem that needs fixing, and may need a new company to operate it, as well as a buyer to the electricity it generates, ClearView said.
Holtec called the request an initial stage and acknowledged “there are a number of hurdles to jump through to restart the installation.”
The company said it would work with the state, the federal government and a potential third-party operator to see if restarting is a “viable option.”
The DOE said it could not comment on applications for the CNC program funded by last year’s bipartisan infrastructure bill.
The department is also considering an application from PG&E Corp for Diablo Canyon, a nuclear power plant in California slated for complete closure in 2025. The DOE will announce “any conditional awards” no later than 30 days after the Sept. 6 deadline, a doorman said. -word.