The state of Michigan is still working to find a potential buyer who will save Palisades Nuclear Generating Station, a spokesperson for the state governor said this week.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) office continues to work with “potential buyers, operators, and stakeholders to keep this vital energy source and the 600 good-paying jobs right here in Michigan,” a spokesperson told RadWaste Monitor via email Monday. The Palisades plant, which shut down May 20, officially changed hands in June as decommissioning company Holtec International took over at the facility from former operator Entergy.
Lansing has in recent weeks expressed interest in bringing the Covert, Mich., plant back online via the Department of Energy’s roughly $6 billion civil nuclear credits program. The state has about a month left to find a potential buyer — DOE July 11 moved the application deadline for its first $1.2 billion award cycle to Sep. 6 from July 5.
Entergy has already resisted pressure from Whitmer’s office to bid on a federal bailout for Palisades. The utility told RadWaste Monitor in April that it had been contacted by the state about applying for a DOE credit, but that “no formal proposal” had been made to buy the plant.
The company has said that it would be difficult to unroll its existing contract with Holtec, and that plans to shutter Palisades had been on the books since 2016.
Meanwhile, Holtec has said that it will need about 19 years to completely decommission Palisades, putting final site release at around 2041. The plant’s spent fuel inventory could be completely moved into dry storage by 2025 or so , the company has said.