NRC Palisades Restart Panel hosts fourth local public meeting

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) held the fourth local hybrid public meeting on the possible restart of the Palisades nuclear power plant located in Covert, Mich.

This is the fourth meeting the NRC Palisades Restart Panel has hosted in the area, but they’ve held over 20 public meetings since the possible restart process started in 2023.

Right now, Palisades has a license to operate, but it’s in a decommissioning status. Holtec, the license holder for Palisades, is in the process of bringing it back to operational status but must do so with the oversight and to the regulations of the NRC.

The goal of the meeting is to give the public an update in that process and answer any questions or concerns.

Jason Kozel, a member of the Palisades Restart Panel said there’s a target date of July 31st for the NRC to potentially make a determination on the licensing actions, if Palisades does all the correct step by then, but that doesn’t mean things will be operating right away.

“There will be time. There will be work to still do on the site, we’ll still have inspection activities to conduct, and the station will need to meet those sets of requirements to start up,” said Kozel.

The senior manager of governmental affairs for Holtec Palisades, Nick Culp, was also at the meeting. He said they got news from the Department of Energy on Tues. saying they will receive their third disbursement from their federal loan, the sum more than 46 million dollars.

“We were very excited to get this disbursement from the energy department. We’re very heartened that nuclear energy is a big priority for this administration, for not only the jobs and electricity it’s provides, but also for the American leadership and U.S. security role that it plays,” said Culp.

To learn more information or to view the full presentation from the meeting, click here.