A recently-shuttered Michigan nuclear power plant that the state hopes to get running again will have new representation in Congress after November’s midterm elections.
Until this year, the Covert, Mich., Palisades Nuclear Generating Station was located within the state’s sixth congressional district, represented by Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.). Following a redistricting effort, the plant is now in Michigan’s fourth district, a seat currently held by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.).
Huizenga will face off against write-in candidate Joseph Alfonso (D) in November’s midterms.
Although the Palisades plant shut down May 20, there is an effort underway to bring the facility back online. Decommissioning company Holtec International, which in June purchased Palisades from former operator Entergy, has applied for a federal bailout under the first round of the Department of Energy’s roughly $6 billion civil nuclear credits program.
Holtec has said it would use the funds to find an interested buyer to restart the plant.
“There are many reasons to keep this facility open,” Alfonso told the Exchange Monitor via email Wednesday morning, “whether it’s jobs, energy and the reduction of pollution from burning more coal to produce energy.”
A spokesperson for Huizenga’s office did not return a request for comment by deadline Wednesday.
Palisades’ former congressman Upton, who announced in April that he would not seek reelection, has been a supporter of keeping the plant running. Upton in 2017 applauded Entergy’s decision to extend the plant’s life through 2022.
The congressman was also one of several Michigan lawmakers who in September 2021 urged the Joe Biden administration to oppose a proposed Canadian nuclear waste repository on the Great Lakes.
As of Wednesday morning, DOE had yet to announce awardees for its first round of bailouts.
