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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has provided Holtec International (Jupiter, Florida) nearly $57 million of a pledged $1.52 billion loan to restart the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan.
The loan to restart the plant originated under the Biden administration, and the $56.8 million payment represents the first financial move in the nuclear arena for the Trump administration, which is decidedly pro-nuclear as well. In a Monday press release regarding the loan disbursement, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said, "Unleashing American energy dominance will require leveraging all energy sources that are affordable, reliable and secure--including nuclear energy. Today's action is yet another step toward advancing President Trump's commitment to increase domestic energy production, bolster our security and lower costs for the American people."
The single 805-megawatt (MW) reactor at the plant was shut down in May 2022 for economic reasons, after which Holtec purchased the plant from then-owner Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) (New Orleans, Louisiana) with a view to decommissioning the facility. However, the benefits of nuclear power, which produces no emissions, coupled with government support, led Holtec to apply for a DOE loan in 2023 in order to restart the plant. The $57 million disbursement is the second disbursement that Holtec has received from the DOE since the announcement of the loan's close in September 2024. In addition to the providing funding to restart the plant, the loan also is intended to ensure the plant is compliant with the standards of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which has yet to grant licensing approvals.
Holtec plans to restart the plant later this year, marking the first restart of a closed nuclear facility in the U.S. The plant is expected to produce power until at least 2051. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can learn more by viewing the project report. The company also is considering eventually adding small modular reactors to the site to provide another 800 MW of power.
While Palisades would be the first shuttered nuclear plant to be restarted in the U.S., it may not be the last. Both Constellation Energy Corporation (NYSE:CEG) (Baltimore, Maryland) and NextEra Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida) also have announced their intentions to restart closed nuclear plants.
In September 2024, Constellation announced that it had signed a power purchase agreement with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) (Redmond, Washington) for the equivalent of Microsoft's power consumption from data centers on the PJM grid to come from a restarted Three Mile Island nuclear plant. Unit 2 of Three Mile Island, which has been renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center, was closed in 1979 after a partial meltdown and is now owned by a decommissioning company, but the 835-MW Unit 1 operated until 2019, when it was prematurely shuttered for economic reasons.
Constellation's agreement with Microsoft would lead to an estimated $1.6 billion spent to restart Unit 1, which will be eligible for federal clean-energy tax credits. In announcing the planned restart, Constellation said the recommissioning process would require "significant investments" in plant systems, including the turbine, generator, main power transformer, cooling and control systems. The company also needs to obtain permission from the NRC to restore its authority to load fuel and operate the plant. Constellation expects the NRC's review to be completed in 2027, paving the way for the plant to restart in 2028. Constellation plans to file an additional application to extend the plant's operating license through at least 2054. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the reports on the restarts for the reactor and turbine.
And Iowa also could see a restarted nuclear power plant. In January, NextEra Chief Executive Officer John Ketchum announced that the company had taken the initial steps to restart the single 615-MW reactor at the Duane Arnold nuclear plant near Palo, Iowa. In 2018, NextEra announced its decision to retire the plant early for economic reasons, shortening a power purchase agreement with Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT) (Madison Wisconsin) to end in 2020 rather than 2025. The plant was scheduled to retire in October 2020, but that August, a cooling tower was extensively damaged by a derecho, a windstorm associated with severe thunderstorms that can bring hurricane-force gales. The damage sustained from the windstorm prompted NextEra to retire the plant months earlier than planned. NextEra says the plant could be restarted by late 2028. Subscribers can click here for more details of the project.
The move to restart reactors in the U.S. comes largely in anticipation of increased power consumption by data centers, which with the incorporation of artificial intelligence, are becoming increasingly larger and hungrier for power. In January, the U.S. Energy Information Administration noted in its Short-Term Energy Outlook that after nearly decades of little change, U.S. electricity grew by 2% in 2024 and is expected to continue growing at 2% a year in both 2025 and 2026. In addition to data centers, the EIA noted increasing power consumption from automotive battery plants and semiconductor manufacturing.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
The loan to restart the plant originated under the Biden administration, and the $56.8 million payment represents the first financial move in the nuclear arena for the Trump administration, which is decidedly pro-nuclear as well. In a Monday press release regarding the loan disbursement, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said, "Unleashing American energy dominance will require leveraging all energy sources that are affordable, reliable and secure--including nuclear energy. Today's action is yet another step toward advancing President Trump's commitment to increase domestic energy production, bolster our security and lower costs for the American people."
The single 805-megawatt (MW) reactor at the plant was shut down in May 2022 for economic reasons, after which Holtec purchased the plant from then-owner Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) (New Orleans, Louisiana) with a view to decommissioning the facility. However, the benefits of nuclear power, which produces no emissions, coupled with government support, led Holtec to apply for a DOE loan in 2023 in order to restart the plant. The $57 million disbursement is the second disbursement that Holtec has received from the DOE since the announcement of the loan's close in September 2024. In addition to the providing funding to restart the plant, the loan also is intended to ensure the plant is compliant with the standards of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which has yet to grant licensing approvals.
Holtec plans to restart the plant later this year, marking the first restart of a closed nuclear facility in the U.S. The plant is expected to produce power until at least 2051. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can learn more by viewing the project report. The company also is considering eventually adding small modular reactors to the site to provide another 800 MW of power.
While Palisades would be the first shuttered nuclear plant to be restarted in the U.S., it may not be the last. Both Constellation Energy Corporation (NYSE:CEG) (Baltimore, Maryland) and NextEra Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida) also have announced their intentions to restart closed nuclear plants.
In September 2024, Constellation announced that it had signed a power purchase agreement with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) (Redmond, Washington) for the equivalent of Microsoft's power consumption from data centers on the PJM grid to come from a restarted Three Mile Island nuclear plant. Unit 2 of Three Mile Island, which has been renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center, was closed in 1979 after a partial meltdown and is now owned by a decommissioning company, but the 835-MW Unit 1 operated until 2019, when it was prematurely shuttered for economic reasons.
Constellation's agreement with Microsoft would lead to an estimated $1.6 billion spent to restart Unit 1, which will be eligible for federal clean-energy tax credits. In announcing the planned restart, Constellation said the recommissioning process would require "significant investments" in plant systems, including the turbine, generator, main power transformer, cooling and control systems. The company also needs to obtain permission from the NRC to restore its authority to load fuel and operate the plant. Constellation expects the NRC's review to be completed in 2027, paving the way for the plant to restart in 2028. Constellation plans to file an additional application to extend the plant's operating license through at least 2054. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the reports on the restarts for the reactor and turbine.
And Iowa also could see a restarted nuclear power plant. In January, NextEra Chief Executive Officer John Ketchum announced that the company had taken the initial steps to restart the single 615-MW reactor at the Duane Arnold nuclear plant near Palo, Iowa. In 2018, NextEra announced its decision to retire the plant early for economic reasons, shortening a power purchase agreement with Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT) (Madison Wisconsin) to end in 2020 rather than 2025. The plant was scheduled to retire in October 2020, but that August, a cooling tower was extensively damaged by a derecho, a windstorm associated with severe thunderstorms that can bring hurricane-force gales. The damage sustained from the windstorm prompted NextEra to retire the plant months earlier than planned. NextEra says the plant could be restarted by late 2028. Subscribers can click here for more details of the project.
The move to restart reactors in the U.S. comes largely in anticipation of increased power consumption by data centers, which with the incorporation of artificial intelligence, are becoming increasingly larger and hungrier for power. In January, the U.S. Energy Information Administration noted in its Short-Term Energy Outlook that after nearly decades of little change, U.S. electricity grew by 2% in 2024 and is expected to continue growing at 2% a year in both 2025 and 2026. In addition to data centers, the EIA noted increasing power consumption from automotive battery plants and semiconductor manufacturing.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
