A Southwest Michigan nuclear power plant is one step closer to coming back online.
Palisades shut down in 2022, originally to be decommissioned.
But its owner, Holtec International, has been working on a restart plan. The plan was to start generating power at the end of last year. A series of maintenance issues, including thousands of cracked steam generator tubes, set that timeline back.
Some nearby residents have been trying to halt the restart, arguing Palisades was outdated and unreliable even before it shut down in 2022.
Earlier this week, workers at Palisades started loading fuel rods into the reactor core's 204 fuel assemblies.
Palisades has the capability to generate electricity for about 800,000 homes at full power.
A company spokesperson said Palisades will start generating power again “once its Technical Specifications are met along with all applicable federal regulations and industry standards.”
