ABOVE: Biden’s Energy Secretary (and former Michigan Governor) Jennifer Granholm (center) and current Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (right) with officials in the control room of Palisades Nuclear Facility. PHOTO: Mari Maloney, Special to Detroit News.

‘The DOE said [the re-started plant] would avoid 4.47 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, roughly equivalent to removing more than 970,000 gas-powered vehicles from the road.‘

By Carol Thompson | The Detroit News

Covert Township — The federal government is lending the owner of the shuttered Palisades Nuclear Plant $1.5 billion to help fund the company’s bid to reopen the facility, an effort state and federal leaders said Wednesday will help meet climate goals and return hundreds of high-wage jobs to southwest Michigan.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm announced the funding to a crowd of Palisades employees and supporters at a Wednesday morning [March 27] event held in the plant’s dry fuel storage building.

“It is an unspeakable joy to be here for so many reasons, both as the former governor of Michigan but as a champion for clean baseload power,” Granholm said. “Everything about this operation is impressive, especially the focus on safety, the focus on professionalism, this community’s support for this effort.”

Granholm and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a strong supporter of Holtec International’s plan to restart Palisades, said the power generated at the plant will help the state and country meet climate goals.

While not renewable power, nuclear energy plants don’t emit greenhouse gases like fossil fuel plants do.

“By our estimates, to reach our net-zero goals by 2050 we need to triple, at least, our nuclear energy supply,” Granholm said. “This is a big win for America, a big win for the nation.”

At full capacity, Palisades is an 800-megawatt plant that could generate enough electricity to supply 800,000 homes. The plant started decommissioning about two years ago under its former owner, Entergy Nuclear.

If Palisades owner Holtec International is successful, the southwest Michigan nuclear plant would be the first in the country to return to the grid after decommissioning. Returning it to the grid is a significant undertaking, Whitmer said.

“We’re here today to prove that it can be done, with the right partnership from the federal government, the local government, the state government, but also Holtec, who are experts in nuclear energy,” Whitmer said. “There’s no question that bringing this plant online not only can be done, but we’ll show the world how to get it done.”

Securing the federal loan is one of the major hurdles Holtec International has to clear before resuming operations at Palisades. It already has leapt over other obstacles, including finding a buyer for its power and securing funding from the State of Michigan.

Michigan lawmakers set aside $150 million for reopening the plant in the 2024 state budget, so long as the effort also gained some federal support.

There may be more federal support for Palisades in the future, Granholm said. She said the Biden administration is eyeing additional investments in nuclear power, including support for the development of small modular reactor technology and tax incentives for nuclear power generation.

“There may be other opportunities for us to co-invest, let’s just say that,” Granholm said. ##