Palisades Nuclear Generating Station

Palisades Nuclear Power Plant
Palisades Power Plant in 1974
Map
Official namePalisades Power Plant
CountryUnited States
LocationCovert Township, Van Buren County, Michigan
Coordinates42°19′22″N 86°18′52″W / 42.32278°N 86.31444°W / 42.32278; -86.31444
StatusShut down
Construction beganMarch 12, 1967 (1967-03-12)
Commission dateDecember 29, 1971 (1971-12-29)
Decommission dateMay 20, 2022 (2022-05-20) (Permanent shutdown - being reversed)
Construction cost$630 million (2007 USD)[1] ($892 million in 2023 dollars[2])
Owner(s)Holtec International
Operator(s)Entergy Nuclear (former)
Nuclear power station
Reactor typePWR
Reactor supplierCombustion Engineering
Cooling towers2 × mechanical draft cooling towers[a]
Cooling sourceLake Michigan
Thermal capacity1 × 2565 MWth
Power generation
Units operational1 × 805 MWe
Make and modelCE 2-loop (DRYAMB)
Nameplate capacity805 MWe
Capacity factor99.2% (2021)
72.2% (lifetime)
Annual net output7,014 GWh (2021)
External links
WebsitePalisades Power Plant (plant page)
Palisades Power Plant (plant site)
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

The Palisades Nuclear Generating Station is a moth-balled nuclear power plant located on Lake Michigan, in Van Buren County's Covert Township, Michigan, on a 432-acre (175 ha) site 5 miles (8.0 km) south of South Haven, Michigan, USA. Palisades was operated by the Nuclear Management Company and owned by CMS Energy prior to the sale to Entergy on April 11, 2007.

Its single Combustion Engineering pressurized water reactor weighs 425 tons and has steel walls 8+1⁄2 inches (220 mm) thick. The containment building is 116 feet (35 m) in diameter and 189 feet (58 m) tall, including the dome. Its concrete walls are 3+1⁄2 feet (1.1 m) thick with a 1⁄4-inch-thick (6.4 mm) steel liner plate. The dome roof is 3 feet (0.91 m) thick. Access is via a personnel lock measuring 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) by 7 feet 8 inches (2.34 m). The Westinghouse Electric Company turbine generator can produce 725,000 kilowatts of electricity.

Built between 1967 and 1970, Palisades was approved to operate at full power in 1973.[4]

On July 12, 2006, it was announced that the plant would be sold to Entergy. On April 11, 2007, the plant was sold to Entergy for $380 million.[5] The plant's original licensee was due to expire on March 24, 2011. An application for 20-year extension was filed in 2005 with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It was granted on January 18, 2007. Therefore, the plant was then scheduled for decommissioning by 2031.[6]

Entergy had made a decision to close the plant in October 2018. A decision by the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) influenced the company's decision. Consumers Energy attempted to buy its way out of a power purchase agreement it has with Entergy and the plant. The MPSC did not approve Consumer Energy's full request of $172 million, so Entergy decided to keep the plant open three years longer than planned.[7] On April 20, 2022, just weeks before the facility was scheduled to close, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer requested federal funding to keep the facility open.[8]

Entergy closed the Palisades plant in May 2022[9][10] and its sale to Holtec International was completed in June 2022.[11] However, in September 2022, Holtec applied for funds from the Civil Nuclear Credit to reopen the plant.[12] This request was denied in November 2022.[13] In December 2022, Holtec announced that it will reapply for funds from the Civil Nuclear Credit in order to restart Palisades.[14] Other efforts have been made to "repower" the plant.[15] On September 12, 2023, Holtec and Wolverine Power Cooperative announced that they had reached a power purchase agreement to restart the plant once the re-opening is approved.[16] As of August 2024, Holtec has secured $300 million in state funding to restart the plant.[17] The Department of Energy is also ready to offer a $1.5 billion loan to assist in restarting operations.[18] If operations resume, planned for late 2025,[19] the plant would be the first nuclear power plant to restart operations in the country.[20]

  1. ^ "EIA - State Nuclear Profiles". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  2. ^ Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  3. ^ a b Palisades - Final Safety Analysis Report Update, Revision 32, Chapter 10 - Steam and Power Conversion System (PDF) (Report). Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  4. ^ Swidwa, Julie (December 9, 2016). "Timeline: Palisades' rocky history". The Herald-Palladium. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  5. ^ "Entergy News Release - Corporate". Entergy.com. 2006-07-12. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  6. ^ "Local News: Extension approved for Palisades Nuclear Power Plant, license, plant, nuclear - wwmt.com". 2007-01-18. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  7. ^ Galford, Chris (2017-09-29). "Palisades Nuclear Power Plant to continue operations until 2022". Daily Energy Insider. Retrieved 2017-10-10.
  8. ^ "With Emissions Soaring, Democratic Governors Sour On Plans To Shut Down Nuclear Power". MSN. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  9. ^ Newman, Alexandra (September 29, 2017). "Palisades to stay open to 2022". The Herald-Palladium. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  10. ^ Palisades Power Plant shuts down early, WOODtv, Matt Jaworowski, May 20, 2022
  11. ^ Knot, Juliana (June 28, 2022). "Entergy completes Palisades sale to Holtec, decommissioning begins". The Herald-Palladium. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  12. ^ Boatman, Michael (10 September 2022). "In surprise move, Whitmer announces plan to reopen shuttered Palisades nuclear plant". Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  13. ^ House, Kelly (21 November 2022). "Feds deny funding to reopen Michigan's Palisades nuclear plant". Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  14. ^ Beggin, Riley. "Owner of Palisades to reapply for funding to reopen nuclear power plant". Detroit News. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  15. ^ Wittkowski, Tony (June 27, 2023). "State, local officials push for urgency to repower former Palisades plant". The Herald-Palladium. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  16. ^ [1], Retrieved 2024-01-31
  17. ^ Niiler, Eric (2024-08-26). "Can a Closed Nuclear Power Plant From the '70s Be Brought Back to Life? - Surging demand for electricity and new investment in green energy drove the plan to restart Michigan's decommissioned Palisades plant. It would be a global first". Wall Street Journal.
  18. ^ "LPO Announces Conditional Commitment to Holtec Palisades to Finance the Restoration and Resumption of Service of 800-MW Nuclear Generating Station". Energy.gov. March 27, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  19. ^ Halper, Evan (July 10, 2024). "A nuclear accident made Three Mile Island infamous. AI's needs may revive it". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  20. ^ "Report: Feds will give $1.5 billion to restart Palisades nuclear plant". Bridge Michigan. January 31, 2024.


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