This story was originally published by Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
In western Michigan, a previously defunct nuclear plant has transitioned back to operating status following the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to reauthorize power operations.
As of Aug. 25, the Palisades Power Plant is the first nuclear plant in the United States to transition from decommissioning status back to operations, according to the plant’s owner, Holtec International.
The former Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, will follow in the Michigan plant’s footsteps. Constellation Energy is currently working to reopen the nuclear facility — renamed Crane Clean Energy Center — by 2027. That’s a year earlier than initially expected.
It is slated to power data centers for Microsoft. An agreement reached between the tech company and Constellation is reported to last 20 years, could create around 3,400 jobs and bring $3 billion in state and federal taxes.
The Michigan plant can begin receiving nuclear fuel and restart operations once certain conditions of the plant’s technical specifications are met.
While the company works on repairing the plant’s steam generators, alongside reassembling the main generator and turbine, Holtec says the plant is squarely in the final phase of its restart preparations.
“This is a proud and historic moment for our team, for Michigan, and for the United States,” Holtec International President Kelly Trice said in a statement. “The [commision’s] approval to transition Palisades back to an operating license represents an unprecedented milestone in U.S. nuclear energy. Our mission remains clear: to restart Palisades safely, securely, reliably, and in support of America’s energy future – while supporting local jobs and economic growth for decades to come.”
Upon returning to operations, Holtec said the facility will produce 800 megawatts of electricity, enough to power over 800,000 homes and businesses.
While the plant has received support from Michigan Democrats and Republicans alike, the plant is not without its opponents, with Kevin Kamps of the anti-nuclear advocacy group Beyond Nuclear arguing lawmakers and regulators are “playing radioactive Russian roulette on the Lake Michigan shore.”
“Holtec’s Palisades zombie reactor restart scheme is not only unprecedented, but also unneeded, insanely expensive for taxpayers and ratepayers, and very risky for health, safety, security and the environment,” Kamps said in a statement.
Opponents of the plant’s restart have argued the funds used to restart the plant – including a $1.5 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy and $300 million in state funding – could be better spent on renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
Residents living near the plant have also raised health concerns with a survey of 702 full and part-time residents living 400 yards to a mile from the reactor finding those individuals were five times more likely to develop thyroid cancer in their lifetime than the rest of the nation.
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