Holtec International has completed major projects at the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan and has transitioned to the remaining routine maintenance and testing readiness work required before restarting operations.
According to Holtec’s July 2 press release, major projects completed during this phase include placement of the plant’s turbine generator “on turning gear” and installation and testing of a new fuel handling machine. These completed activities come after a handful of other projects that were completed by the company in late March.
More than 5,000 individual work activities still remain before restarting, but that this transition is an important milestone, Holtec said. The project phase served as the company’s focus for “ensuring that Palisades is ready to support decades of safe, reliable operation,” it said.
“As we enter the final phase of this historic effort, we are grateful for the support provided by our federal, state, and community partners, whose collaboration has helped make this pioneering effort possible,” said Holtec Chairman and CEO Kris Singh. “The Palisades restart will forever serve as lasting evidence of what can be accomplished when government and private industry work together to achieve an important national objective.”
Palisades, an 800-megawatt nuclear plant in Covert Township, Mich., would become the first shuttered U.S. reactor to return to full service. The restoration efforts have been backed by a $1.52 billion loan issued by the Department of Energy in 2024.
The plant has already received six loan reimbursements for its restart efforts, with the last one coming in September 2025. Nearly $500 million has been allocated to the plant so far.
In another development, on July 1, a November 2025 lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan challenging the restoration of Palisades operations was dismissed. The plaintiffs, three environmental groups, challenged NRC’s decision to exempt Holtec from reviving a decommissioned Palisades nuclear power plant.
In July 2025, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued Holtec an exemption and an application to hand over operating authority for the Palisades. Additionally, three license amendments were included with this regulatory decision.
The court found that the Atomic Energy Act and Hobbs Act allows for the U.S. Court of Appeals the ability to review an exemption decision related to a nuclear licensing proceeding, according to a Department of Justice press release.