US Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chris Wright has released the second loan disbursement to Holtec for the Palisades NPP. The disbursement of $56,787,300 under a $1.5bn Biden-era loan guarantee furthers the Trump administration’s goal of promoting “affordable, reliable and secure” energy, Wright said.
“Unleashing American energy dominance will require leveraging all energy sources that are affordable, reliable and secure – including nuclear energy,” said Secretary Wright. “Today’s action is yet another step toward advancing President Trump’s commitment to increase domestic energy production, bolster our security and lower costs for the American people.”
Subject to Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing approvals, the Palisades NPP will be the first restart of a US commercial nuclear reactor that had ceased operation. The project is projected to support or retain up to 600 high-quality jobs in Michigan – many of them filled by workers who had previously been at the plant for over 20 years.
The single-unit 800 MWe pressurised water reactor began commercial operation in 1971. Operator Entergy announced in 2016 plans to close the plant. In 2021 the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved transfer of the licence from Entergy to Holtec in preparation for its decommissioning.
The reactor was removed from service by Entergy in May 2022, and defueled, and its sale to Holtec completed in June 2022. However, Holtec then announced that it was applying for federal funding to allow restart of the plant. In April, DOE through its Loan Programs Office (LPO) announced the offer of a conditional commitment of up to $1.52bn as a loan guarantee to restart the plant, which was subsequently confirmed.
The disbursement is Holtec’s second disbursement of funds from the Loan Programs Office (LPO) since the announcement of its financial loan close in September 2024. LPO funds go toward the plant restart and ensuring the plant is NRC compliant. NRC says it aims to issue final decisions on outstanding licensing actions by 31 July.
In January, NRC issued for public comment a draft environmental assessment and draft finding of no significant impact evaluating the environmental impacts from reauthorising power operations at the plant, as it considers Holtec’s requests for the licence exemptions and amendments it will need before the plant can restart.
In February 2024, Holtec said the facility achieved a key step towards its planned fourth-quarter restart, with the NRC issuing a draft Environmental Assessment indicating no significant environmental impact. This milestone addresses Holtec’s requests for exemptions, licence transfers, and amendments necessary to resume generation.
Holtec has also said it intends to use the Palisades site as the location for its first two small modular reactor units. These will potentially add an additional 600 MWe of generation capacity at the site and take advantage of existing infrastructure.
