The owner of the shuttered Palisades nuclear power plant in Van Buren County has reached an agreement to sell future electricity to power suppliers in Michigan and Indiana, marking a “significant milestone” in efforts to reopen the plant.
Holtec International and Wolverine Power Cooperative, which supplies energy to seven member cooperatives around Michigan, today announced a long-term agreement to purchase the power generated from Palisades if and when it reopens.
In addition to securing state and federal funding and regulatory approvals to reopen the plant, the power purchase agreement is another crucial step for Holtec to ensure it has a market to sell its electricity. Palisades would become the first nuclear plant in the United States to reopen after it had been closed for decommissioning.
“We are thrilled to enter into this partnership,” Kelly Trice, president of Holtec Nuclear Generation and Decommissioning, said in a statement. “The executed power purchase agreement represents a significant milestone in our journey towards reopening the plant, a historic moment for Michigan and the country.”
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Per the agreement, Wolverine would commit to buying two-thirds of the power generated from Palisades for its member rural electric cooperatives that span much of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Bloomington, Ind.-based Hoosier Energy would buy the balance of the generation.
While environmental groups and nuclear critics remain opposed to reopening the plant, and some experts have questioned the condition of the facility, supporters say its 840 MW of carbon-free electricity added to the power grid would help the state meet its climate change and emission-reduction goals.
“Ensuring reliable and affordable electricity in Michigan is crucial,” Wolverine CEO Eric Baker said in a statement. “The restart of Palisades offers a practical, long-term solution to electric reliability in our state and aligns with Michigan’s ambitious goals to reduce carbon emissions.”
Once deemed a long shot, the attempt to reopen Palisades is inching toward reality again as multiple key pieces fall into place. That includes $150 million in state funding support that was approved in the upcoming fiscal year budget. As well, Holtec officials say they are working cooperatively with the U.S. Department of Energy to secure a federal loan to reopen Palisades.
However, some nuclear experts have raised concerns about the status of the plant’s “severely embrittled” reactor vessel, and the total cost of restoring it to safe operating conditions.
Holtec acquired Palisades in June 2022 after previous owner Entergy shut down the facility in May 2022 after more than 50 years in operation.
After Holtec started decommissioning activities, company and state officials rushed to secure funding from a new Biden administration program that aimed to preserve existing nuclear plants, kicking off the effort to restart Palisades as a crucial clean energy source.
Early this year, Holtec applied to the Energy Department for a $1 billion loan to repower Palisades after being denied grant funding in 2022. An announcement today noted the company is “working cooperatively” to advance the loan application process, and that it has had “several constructive public meetings” with U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff on a potential regulatory framework to reopen the plant.
“The repowering of Palisades ensures Michigan has sufficient energy to meet future demand and mitigate the impact of climate change, while creating hundreds of high-paying Michigan jobs, expanding the local tax base, and unleashing economic opportunity within the region and beyond,” Trice said. “With key support from federal partners, Gov. Whitmer, the Michigan legislature, and the local plant community, this will soon be a reality.”
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