Company aims to file for construction permit application in 2026
Holtec is planning to build its first two SMR-300 small modular reactors at the Palisades nuclear power station site, with the first commissioned by mid-2030, the company said.
Holtec bought Palisades in 2022 to decommission the 805-MW pressurised water reactor facility, which had struggled to compete with natural gas-fired plants and renewable energy.
The plant, in Covert Township, Michigan, was shut down about 10 days earlier than expected in May 2022, after discovery of a problem with a control rod drive seal.
Holtec initially planned to repurpose the 174-hectare site, but the Biden administration’s $6bn (€5.6bn) of aid for upgrading nuclear facilities in the US led the company to reconsider its plans.
Holtec is now planning to restart the existing plant and add two SMRs.
Holtec’s SMR-300 is a pressurised water reactor producing around 300 MW of electrical power or 1,050 MW of thermal power for process applications.
Restart Receives Bipartisan Support
Holtec said the existing plant at Palisades could return to service at the end of 2025.
The plant’s restart has received bipartisan support, including from Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer. The state also included $150m to restart the plant in its latest budget.
Holtec has asked the NRC to reinstate its operating licence for the plant and to re-hire staff.
But the effort needs federal funding, expected to be the primary investment in the plan’s restart. Holtec hopes to tap a $6bn fund at the Department of Energy earmarked to preserve the US nuclear reactor fleet and associated jobs.
Federal energy officials are still reviewing the company’s $1bn grant application. Holtec officials have been quoted as saying it would take hundreds of millions of dollars for facility renovations and to buy nuclear fuel.
Holtec said the filing of the construction permit application for the two SMRs is targeted for 2026, shortly after the existing Palisades plant would return to service.
The existing Palisades nuclear power station in Michigan. Courtesy Holtec.
