Nuclear regulators will hold a meeting today with engineers from the Palisades nuclear plant, as the owner of the plant tries to make it the first plant in history to reopen after decommissioning.
The plan to restart the reactor at Palisades has already stretched beyond the initial timeline put forward by Holtec International, the plant’s current owner. Throughout last year, Holtec said it planned to start generating power by the end of the year. When that didn’t happen, a Holtec spokesperson told Michigan Public the new goal was to reopen the plant in “early 2026.”
"Is Holtec being transparent with the public when they put out these statements, ‘We’re going to restart in such and such'?"Alan Blind, retired nuclear engineer
Alan Blind, a retired nuclear engineer who formerly worked at Palisades, said Monday’s meeting is another indication that the restart may be more complicated than Holtec realized.
“Is Holtec being transparent with the public when they put out these statements, ‘We’re going to restart in such and such'?" Blind asked.
The focus of Monday’s meeting, on paper, is to discuss a request Holtec hasn’t yet submitted for approval of a process for welding the “Pressurizer Spray Nozzle Safe End and Safety Nozzles Flange.” The meeting comes on the heels of multiple requests from Holtec for the NRC to give it an exception to welding codes, based on welding repairs that have already been done at the plant.
Blind says these applications are more complicated than they sound, and that Holtec has been putting the cart before the horse, by implementing repairs first, and asking for regulatory approval afterward. He says the fact that the NRC is holding a meeting now on the practice suggests regulators haven’t been getting the answers they want from Holtec so far.
“The importance to the public is number one the NRC is doing a good job of holding Holtec accountable for doing it correctly,” Blind said.
A spokesperson for Holtec said the meeting is part of the “standard regulatory process,” but didn’t give an updated timeline for when the plant might restart power generation.
“Palisades will return to service once our robust restart activities are complete and all federal requirements and industry standards are met,” wrote Palisades spokesperson Nick Culp, in an email to Michigan Public.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m EST. A link to an online webinar is available here.
