U.S. Approves $1.5B Loan To Restart Palisades Nuclear Reactor

The Department of Energy announced that the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan has finalized its federal loan of $1.5 billion that would be used for the first restart of a reactor in the history of the U.S.

The owner of the plant, Holtec International, which is headquartered in Jupiter, Florida, is hoping that it could restart the plant in the fourth quarter of 2025.

"Nuclear power is our single largest source of carbon free electricity, directly supporting 100,000 jobs across the country and hundreds of thousands more indirectly," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said in a statement.

The planned restart would be subject to the approval of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

Nick Culp, the spokesperson for Holtec, revealed that all the necessary funding that it needs has already been secured. The Department of Energy stated that the funds will be used for testing, inspections, rebuilding, restoration and replacement of equipment at the plant.

According to Culp, the company has already completed all the submissions required for licensing to the NRC and the executives of the company also expect to receive a response from the commission by 2025 , CNBC reported.

The restart of the Palisades plant would be a milestone for the nuclear industry, which has been struggling to match the cheaper natural gas. Palisades itself has struggled to keep operations and had to close in 2022.

The U.S. seeks carbon-free energy to meet more demand for electricity and at the same time meet the country's climate goals. With the restart of Palisades, it will pave the way for the recent decision of Constellation Energy to bring back online the Three Mile Island plant by 2028.

"We've been using all of the tools in our tool belt to support the nuclear energy sector, keep reactors online, and to bring them back, and to finance advanced reactor deployment as well," said the deputy secretary at the Department of Energy, David Turk.

Over the next few years, the demand for electricity in the U.S. is expected to increase by about 15%. Turk noted that artificial intelligence has driven the establishment of more data centers, and the domestic manufacturing industry has also seen continued expansion.

Software giant Microsoft already agreed to buy power for its massive data centers from Three Mile Island. Palisades, on the other hand, will be distributing power to Wolverine Power Cooperative, which is a nonprofit that provides power to rural communities in Michigan.

With the restart of Palisades, it will be able to support around 600 jobs in Covert Township. Turk also said that it can provide enough power for 800,000 homes.

The project is anticipated to avoid 4.47 million tons of CO2 emissions per year for a total of 111 million tons of CO2 emissions during the projected 25 years of operations.

Holtec foresees doubling the capacity of the plant by 2030. It is planning to build small modular reactors at the site.