The U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) has announced a conditional commitment of up to $1.52 billion for a loan guarantee to Holtec Palisades, LLC to finance the restoration and resumption of service of an 800-MW electric nuclear generating station in Covert Township, Michigan.

The project aims to bring back online the Palisades Nuclear Plant, which ceased operations in May 2022, and upgrade it to produce baseload clean power until at least 2051, subject to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing approvals.

If finalized, Holtec Palisades will be the first recommissioning of a shut-down nuclear power plant in the United States—reinforcing American’s status as a global energy leader while also driving critical investments in energy communities to support their economic revitalization, strengthen domestic supply chains, and help workers benefit from the growing clean energy economy.

The project also highlights President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to support good-paying, high-quality job opportunities in communities across the country while also expanding access to affordable clean energy resources.

The project is projected to support or retain up to 600 high-quality jobs in Michigan, with approximately 45% of the workforce at the site being good-paying union labor upon restart. In addition to the workers supported by the facility’s restart, if finalized the loan guarantee would support more than 1,000 jobs during the facility’s regularly scheduled refueling and maintenance periods every 18 months.

The project is anticipated to avoid 4.47 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year for a total of 111 million tonnes of CO2 emissions during the projected 25 years of operations—an amount roughly equivalent to the annual emissions of removing more than 970,000 gasoline-powered cars from the road. Reducing fossil fuel-based electricity generation also reduces other harmful pollution that is often also released during the process and can cause or contribute to local health impacts.

Once operational, the Palisades Nuclear Plant will provide around-the-clock, zero-emissions electricity generation––a vital addition to Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s (MISO) resource mix as coal plants are retired.