COVERT TWP. — Despite a pending application for a federal grant to reopen the plant, a public meeting on the decommissioning plan for Palisades Nuclear Plant will be held this week.
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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is holding a public meeting to discuss Holtec Decommissioning International’s plan to decommission Palisades. It will be held in a hybrid format from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22, at the Lake Michigan College South Haven Campus at 125 Veterans Blvd. — as well as online.
Public comment on Holtec’s Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report will be accepted during the meeting and online through Dec. 27.
Holtec submitted its PSDAR in December 2020, contingent on the company acquiring Palisades. The company’s purchase from Entergy was finalized in June, a month after the plant closed.
The PSDAR includes a cost estimate to decommission the plant and an overview of Holtec’s planned activities, schedule and environmental impacts of decommissioning Palisades.
The timeline included in the PSDAR runs through 2041. That includes site modifications and independent spent fuel storage installation until November 2025. December 2025-November 2035 is scheduled as a “dormancy period” with no work taking place.
Demolition and waste management, among other activities, begin after the dormancy period. Site restoration is scheduled to begin in 2040 under the PSDAR.
Using 2020 figures, the decommissioning was estimated to cost more than $644 million. The full 144-page PSDAR is available at nrc.gov.
Although Holtec has a decommissioning plan submitted, it also submitted an application to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Civil Nuclear Credit Program which, if approved, would reopen Palisades. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wrote a letter in support of the plan earlier this month.
The application was submitted July 5. According to an FAQ about the Civil Nuclear Credit program, award decisions could be made as soon as 30 days following the deadline for submissions.
The Palisades Nuclear Plant operated from Dec. 31, 1971, to May 20, 2022. It closed 11 days earlier than expected “due to the performance of a control rod drive seal.”
Should the plant receive a Civil Nuclear Credit, there would be a “number of hurdles” to clear before reopening the plant, Holtec told The Sentinel earlier this month. Those include maintenance on the control rod drive seal, procuring a power purchase agreement, upgrading the switchyard, partnering with a licensed operator for the plant and securing an additional 400 or more qualified staff.
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman mboatman@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @SentinelMitch.