Copyright M Live Michigan
COVERT, MI – The long-anticipated restart of the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant took a major step forward this fall as new uranium fuel arrived on site. Holtec International confirmed this week that 68 fresh fuel assemblies were delivered to the 800-megawatt plant in Van Buren County and placed in the spent fuel pool for inspection and storage until workers begin loading them into the reactor core. The delivery signals that the once-shuttered facility is on track to generate electricity again by the end of this year, according to company plans. If successful, Palisades is poised to become the first American nuclear power plant to restart after entering decommissioning — a precedent-setting move that has drawn both national attention and local concern. The restart comes despite objections from neighbors and anti-nuclear advocates who argue safety shortcuts are happening in the race to restart the plant on the Lake Michigan shoreline. Holtec did not disclose its fuel supplier beyond calling it a “vendor that has supplied Palisades and the U.S. nuclear industry for decades.” Ordering fuel years in advance is one of the first steps in preparing for the nuclear plant to restart, said Nick Culp, company spokesperson. The process of loading the assemblies into the reactor core will take several days once inspections are complete, Culp said. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials did not respond to MLive’s inquiries about the restart efforts. An automatic reply cited the federal government shutdown. In February, the NRC determined the restart will have “no significant impact” on the environment. In July, officials approved licensing and regulatory changes to shift the nuclear plant from decommissioning status to operational footing. The new fuel assemblies won’t be enough to completely power the facility. In addition, 136 partially used fuel assemblies stored in the spent fuel pool will be returned to the reactor core to reach the optimal mix for restart, Culp said. Those used fuel assemblies were removed from the core in June 2022 following the power plant’s shutdown. They were previously used in the plant’s last two operating cycles. Each fuel assembly is 12 feet long and contains 216 fuel rods. Approximately 200 uranium dioxide fuel pellets are stacked into each fuel rod. “Each fuel pellet – which is about the size of a pencil eraser – contains roughly the same energy potential as a ton of coal,” Culp said. The Palisades restart has become a key component in Michigan’s energy strategy. This comes as the federal government under President Donald Trump has shifted energy priorities away from other renewable sources of carbon-free electricity such as wind and solar and toward fossil fuels. Nuclear energy is touted by some climate action advocates as a source of large amounts of reliable power without planet-warming carbon emissions, unlike fossil fuels such as oil and coal. Others support nuclear power for the energy security it provides through large amounts of electricity delivered to the grid. The push to restart and expand nuclear generation at Palisades follows the closure of coal plants across Michigan, which formerly provided reliable baseload power. Culp said other developments in the restart process at the nuclear plant include chemical cleaning the steam generator system, and refurbishment and reinstallation of both primary coolant pump motors. The main turbine generator is also being reassembled after inspections, testing and maintenance work, he said. Meanwhile, a coalition of environmental groups that oppose nuclear energy continue to object to the restart of the atomic reactor at the Palisades plant. “The Palisades restart is a dangerous nuclear experiment on the Lake Michigan shore, and all of us downwind and downstream are the guinea pigs,” said Kevin Kamps, from the group Beyond Nuclear. Related: Feds release another $156M for Michigan nuclear plant restart That group, along with Don’t Waste Michigan, continues to fight what they call a “flurry of significant regulatory waivers” sought by Holtec. The groups describe these as “Band-Aid fixes” for the “rush job” to restart the Palisades plant. Waivers sought by the company involve safety systems, structures and components, such as control rod drive mechanisms, instrumentation, coolant system piping, and pressurizer nozzles, among others. “The regulatory pathway to restart that Holtec and NRC have cobbled together since 2022 has been very chaotic from the get-go, but this recent piecemeal flurry of relief requests shows the safety risks are increasingly off the chart,” said Terry Lodge, an Ohio-based lawyer for the coalition, in a statement. Local officials are expecting the Palisades plant to restart on schedule by year’s end, or even a little late. It’s a major milestone that new fuel has arrived at the facility, said Daywi Cook, Covert Township supervisor. “We’re just more concerned about everything being in order, and we’re not so concerned about getting online as soon as possible – at least the community. We just want to make sure everything’s done in a safe and responsible way,” Cook said. Palisades shut down 11 days ahead of schedule in May 2022 because of a problem with a control rod drive seal. Holtec initially purchased the plant to decommission the facility but then sought federal approval to restart the nuclear reactor to make electricity through the end of 2031, under the plant’s previously approved license. In addition to firing up the old nuclear plant, Holtec wants to build another 600 megawatts of capacity from small modular reactors at the 432-acre site along Lake Michigan.
