The governor of Michigan this week applauded the state’s efforts in its ill-fated attempt to bring a recently-shuttered nuclear power plant back online with the help of a federal bailout.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) “brought together a coalition to develop a plan that would have reopened a non-operational nuclear plant for the first time in American history,” a spokesperson told RadWaste Monitor in an emailed statement Monday.
Whitmer in September backed a plan to restart Palisades Nuclear Generating Station, which shut down in May, using part of the Department of Energy’s roughly $6 billion civil nuclear credits program. Current plant owner Holtec International confirmed to RadWaste Monitor last week that DOE had rejected its bid on the program’s first funding cycle.
Holtec, which acquired the Covert, Mich., Palisades plant from Entergy in June, had said it would use DOE cash to solicit a potential buyer to restart the facility. Now, however, the company has said it will focus on decommissioning the site.
Despite that, Whitmer’s spokesperson called DOE’s rejection a “temporary setback” and said that Michigan “continues to have enough energy to meet the needs of families, communities, and small businesses.”
“We will continue to support those who are impact [sic] and the community,” the spokesperson said.
Whitmer was a vocal proponent of Holtec’s gambit to restart Palisades, telling Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in a Sep. 9 letter that bringing the plant online was one of Michigan’s “top priorities.” Saving the plant would secure 1,700 jobs and fight climate change by generating zero-carbon energy, Whitmer said at the time.
While it was still operating, Palisades employed around 600 people. Former operator Entergy told RadWaste Monitor in April that around 260 workers, around 40%, would remain on-site “as part of the first phase of decommissioning.” Of the 334 employees not staying at Palisades, around 130 relocated to other roles within the company and 180 or so separated from Entergy completely.
