The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has begun reviewing a proposal to build two new small modular reactors at the Palisades nuclear plant complex in Van Buren County.
The proposed units — named Pioneer 1 and Pioneer 2 — would be among the first small modular reactors in the country. Nick Culp, senior manager of government affairs and communications at Holtec Palisades, said the planned SMR-300 models were designed to rely on natural forces like gravity and thermal circulation to cool their reactor cores.
“Holtec’s small modular reactor is, we call it, ‘walk‑away safe,” Culp said. “That’s an industry expression to say that it is using the most advanced technologies in safety developed within the industry over decades. It has a very passive and simplified safety system.”
Holtec has secured up to $400 million in federal funding and plans to have the Pioneer reactors in place in the early 2030s.
The Palisades site already has a long nuclear history. Its main reactor was shut down and began the decomissioning process in 2022. However, Holtec committed to restart the older reactor, receiving $1.52 billion in federal loan guarantees, $1.3 billion from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and $150 million from the state of Michigan to support the project. The company plans for the older reactor to be live again by the end of this year.
Culp said Holtec chose the Palisades location because of the state of Michigan’s support for nuclear energy, and because co-locating the new reactors on the same complex as the existing plant will help streamline operations and workforce needs.
“The state of Michigan is really at the front end of a resurgence of nuclear power in the United States, and that’s embodied both in the historic restart of the Palisades plant, as well as what we hope to be the deployment of the nation’s first two small modular reactors,” Culp said.
The plan has drawn sharp opposition from anti-nuclear advocates. Kevin Kamps, who calls the Palisades site “a grand nuclear experiment,” warns that any reactor could carry unacceptable risks.
“On the tiny Palisades site of 432 acres are both ends of the nuclear risk spectrum,” Kamps said. “You're going to have the breakdown phase risks at the old reactor, and you're going to have break‑in phase risks at the two new reactors."
Kulp said Holtec has already begun preparing the site for possible construction, including environmental studies, tree clearing, and groundwater monitoring.
The agency is taking public comment on the proposal until July 15. Interested parties can email feedback to PioneerEnvironmental@nrc.gov.
The NRC did not make a spokesperson available for an interview.
