Holtec International remains on track for restarting the mothballed Palisades nuclear power station in Michigan in October 2025, if the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) sticks to the schedule the company has laid out for completing all necessary inspections.

Michael Schultheis, Holtec’s Palisades regulatory and site strategies director, told a public meeting held to discuss the restart of the single-unit station that 26 operators have passed operator retest exams for the planned restart.

Holtec now has 457 employees and 350 contractors employed for Palisades and expects those numbers to rise to 600 full-time employees and 1,000 contractors once it is fully staffed, Schultheis said.

Holtec is replacing reactor head nozzles as a precaution against potential corrosion and is also replacing control rod drive seals and other vital equipment, as well as taking steps to improve fire protection.