Holtec International's Palisades nuclear plant shuttered for good in 2022, after a half-century in service—but "for good" apparently means "just a few years," as the Michigan facility is now closer to becoming the first reboot for a nuclear reactor after all of its fuel has been cleared out, per CNBC. On Monday, the Department of Energy closed on the $1.5 billion federal loan that will allow this initiative in Covert to happen, although it still needs to get a final OK from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
"All necessary funding has now been secured," says Holtec spokesperson Nick Culp. That cash will be used for testing and inspections, as well as to rebuild and acquire new equipment for the plant, per the Energy Department. The project is expected to bring 600 jobs to the Covert area and generate enough energy to power 800,000 homes, says a department rep. Holtec hopes the plant will be up and running by the final quarter of 2025, though the Biden administration said it could take up to two years, per Reuters.
"Nuclear power is America's largest source of carbon-free ... electricity, supporting hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs across the country, and will play a critical role in tackling the climate crisis and protecting public health and the environment from its impacts," Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm says in a statement, per the Hill. That outlet notes that although nuclear power "fell out of favor" during the Cold War, largely due to fears over nuclear disasters, it's now reemerging as a viable emissions-free power source. "Palisades is a climate comeback story," says White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi, per Reuters, which notes that "restarting shut nuclear plants is a complicated and expensive process never before accomplished in the country." (More nuclear plants stories.)
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