RestartingReactor Restart
Palisades Nuclear Plant
📍 Covert, MI (Van Buren County Co.)Developer: Holtec International
Capacity
800 MW
Expected Operation
2026
Reactor Type
Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)
Regulatory Status
Not yet restarted. Fuel loading began 2026-08-30 but was paused after a used fuel assembly tilted in the reactor vessel; plant reconnected to 345-kV switchyard 2026-09-11; Holtec submitted a license amendment request for retrieving the assembly on 2026-09-30; NRC decision pending as of 2026-10-09.
Details
Primary Use
Power generation / grid supply
Grid Connection
MISO
Fuel Type
LEU
Research detail · verified 2026-10-10
Stage
Restart under way
Commercial power
Yes
NRC docket
50-255
Stated target operation
Holtec CEO Kris Singh told the Financial Times (July 2026) he expected restart in 2026, ahead of the March 2027 contract date (as reported by ANS 2026-07-08); no firm restart date announced
Stated construction jobs
More than 1,000 jobs during each refueling and maintenance outage every 18 months (DOE LPO); over 1,600 personnel onsite for the restart project (Holtec presentation, Sept 2025)
Stated operations jobs
Up to 600 permanent jobs created or retained (DOE LPO); 570 full-time employees and 40 licensed operators, with over 70 operators planned before commercial operation (Holtec presentation, Sept 2025)
Key dates
2022-05 plant shut down; 2024-09 DOE LPO closed $1.52B loan; 2025-07-24 NRC approved transfer of operating authority / restored licensing basis; 2025-08-25 plant transitioned from decommissioning to operational status; 2026-04 primary system passivation completed; 2026-08-30 fuel loading began; 2026-09-11 switchyard reconnected; 2026-09-25 fuel loading reported paused; 2026-09-30 license amendment request for fuel assembly retrieval submitted
Workforce
Recommissioning/restart labor agreement signed with 15 trade unions (NEI Magazine 2024-05-21; Holtec presentation names support from Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) and United Government Security Officers of America (UGSOA)). Control room simulator and operator training program restored (WNN 2024-05-15).
Not verified / conflicts
No current Holtec-stated restart date: in April 2026 Holtec said it 'will restart when the plant is ready for long-term operations' (ANS 2026-04-02). ANS 2026-09-25 cites earlier reporting that Holtec is contracted to supply power by March 2027 - that is a contract date, not a stated restart target. Capacity conflict: DOE LPO says 800 MW, WNN says 805 MWe, ANS 2026-06-16 says 777 MWe. Lake Michigan College partnership appeared only in a search-result snippet; the NEI Magazine article opened did not mention it. Docket 50-255 is the long-standing Palisades docket; NRC info-finder page was not opened in this session.
Sources
- https://www.energy.gov/node/4844954
- https://wnn.world-nuclear.org/articles/palisades-re-enters-operational-status
- https://www.ans.org/news/article-8436/incident-pauses-palisades-fuel-loading-plant-connected-to-switchyard/
- https://thenationalnews.com/future/technology/2026/10/09/palisades-nuclear-reactor-tipped-fuel-assembly
- https://www.ans.org/news/2026-04-02/article-7901/holtec-hits-milestones-in-palisades-restart-new-reactor-projects/
- https://www.neimagazine.com/newbuild-lifeextension/holtec-reports-remarkable-progress-towards-restart-of-palisades-npp/
- https://world-nuclear-news.org/articles/holtec-outlines-progress-towards-palisades-restart
- https://www.rowan.edu/ric-edelman-college/centers/sweeney_center/docs/e21-final-sep.2025-nj-energy-conf-panel2-tfm.pdf
- https://www.ans.org/news/2026-07-08/article-8187/palisades-restart-projects-holtec-ipo-lawsuit-dismissal-but-no-restart-date/
- https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/news-releases/2026/palisades-requests-license-amendment-review
About
First-ever restart of a US nuclear plant previously shut for decommissioning. Plant reassembly in final phase; fuel on site (late 2025). 800 MW PWR (original Westinghouse design). $1.52B DOE LPO loan guarantee + matching Holtec equity. Holtec and subcontractors performed major engineering work. Wolverine Power Cooperative (MI) and Hoosier Energy (IN) are offtakers. USDA ~$1.3B to rural cooperatives.
Key Organizations
Developer
Holtec International
Power Purchase Agreements2 PPAs
Wolverine Power Cooperative
announcedMichigan rural electric cooperative. Confirmed offtaker per NIA Project Tracker.
Hoosier Energy
announcedIndiana rural electric cooperative. USDA ~$1.3B to cooperatives purchasing Palisades power.
Federal Funding
DOE
LPO · Loan Guarantee
$1.52B DOE LPO loan guarantee (Loan Programs Office) + matching equity from Holtec
$1.5B
awarded
State Policy Context
View nuclear-related legislation and energy stats for Michigan