The Biden-Harris Administration, through the US Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Agriculture (USDA), has announced more than $2.8bn in funding to support clean power in the Midwest.
As part of the plan, the DOE has closed a loan guarantee of up to $1.52bn to finance the restoration and resumption of a 800MW nuclear generating station in Michigan.
This marks the first recommissioning of a retired nuclear power plant in US history.
The Palisades Nuclear Plant, which ceased operations in May 2022, will be brought back online and upgraded to produce clean baseload power until at least 2051, subject to US Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing approvals.
The plant’s restart is expected to protect 600 union jobs at the plant and 1,100 in the community and provide access to reliable power for 800,000 homes in the Midwest, covering Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois.
Palisades is also anticipated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4.47 million tonnes (mt) per year for a total of 111mt during the projected 25 years of operations.
The project is managed by energy company Holtec International and Wolverine Power Cooperative, a not-for-profit energy provider to rural communities in Michigan. The organisations signed long-term power purchase agreements in 2023.
The USDA has also allocated more than $1.3bn for Wolverine Power Cooperative and Hoosier Energy to reduce the cost of electricity passed on to the community from the Palisades plant and other clean energy sources.
According to the White House, the Palisades plant is located in a disadvantaged community where residents face higher energy costs than 97% of communities in the country.
US Secretary of Energy Jennifer M Granholm commented: “Nuclear power is America’s largest source of carbon-free of electricity, supporting hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs across the country, and will play a critical role in tackling the climate crisis and protecting public health and the environment from its impacts.”
The US aims for a carbon-free power sector by 2035. Nuclear power has been spotlighted as a solution for providing uninterrupted carbon-free power amid rising electricity demand.
