Palisades Meets Key Regulatory Milestones and Makes Major Strides in Maintenance and Workforce Expansion to Ensure Timely Restart
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| Holtec’s Palisades Nuclear Power Plant continues to move steadily toward restart, with major progress in physical refurbishment, Operator training, and positive feedback from independent nuclear industry reviewers. Our team remains on track to support a return to safe and reliable operations, pending remaining federal regulatory approvals. |
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| During a recent two-day visit to the plant, Holtec CEO Dr. Kris Singh, marveled at the commitment and dedication of the Palisades team, calling them industry’s “silent heroes”. He credited the federal government’s strong and continued support, the superb caliber of the Palisades workforce, and the deep technical expertise of key contractors as the three robust and indispensable pillars that will enable Holtec to achieve the world’s first-ever restart of a shuttered nuclear plant on an exacting schedule. |
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| Major Maintenance Underway |
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| Palisades continues to make strong progress on complex component maintenance activities to support safe, reliable long-term operations. In the Turbine Building, crews are disassembling and inspecting the Main Generator, performing preventative maintenance on key turbine valves, testing turbine blades, and cleaning the Moisture Separator Reheaters (MSRs). |
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| Inside the Reactor Building, initial welding has been completed on the replacement Reactor Vessel Closure Head (RVCH) nozzles, an important plant reliability upgrade. Steam Generator rehabilitation is also advancing, using an industry-proven tube sleeving method. This work will be followed by secondary-side cleaning, sludge removal, and passivation on the reactor coolant side to ensure longevity of the Steam Generator tubes. |
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| 183-ton Main Generator Rotor removed for inspection in Turbine Building |
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| Oversight and Independent Review |
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| Every step toward restart is subject to rigorous oversight by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), ensuring full compliance with all safety and operational standards. This month, Holtec formally notified the NRC that Palisades is ready to return to a power operations licensing basis, proposing August 25, 2025 as the implementation date for the transition – a major milestone in the regulatory process. |
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| In addition to the NRC’s continuous presence and independent inspections, the plant is also undergoing robust industry-led evaluations, including a completed Nuclear Safety Review Board audit and a comprehensive Pre-Startup Review conducted by the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO). Holtec’s restart plan is guided by thorough technical reviews and conservative planning assumptions, reflecting a strong commitment to nuclear excellence and reinforcing public and industry confidence. |
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| Federal Loan Advances Support Restart |
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| The U.S. Department of Energy recently issued its fourth disbursement from a $1.52 billion federal loan guarantee to support the repowering of Palisades through its Loan Programs Office. |
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| Newly Licensed Plant Operators |
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| Palisades has graduated 10 new Operators as part of its first Initial Licensed Operator class. Combined with the previously re-licensed team, the plant now has a sufficient number of Operators for restart. An additional Operator class of 18 students is in training and expected to take NRC exams in July 2026, further strengthening operational depth. |
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| Condensate Pump Motors removed for refurbishment |
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| Growing Workforce, Long-Term Job Creation |
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| Palisades now employs almost 600 full-time Holtec associates – nearly triple its workforce from mid-2022. They are supported by approximately 1,000 skilled contractors, including trades professionals, specialty vendors, and key suppliers. Once operational, the site will support 600 highly-skilled, permanent local jobs along with more than 1,000 contractor roles during regularly scheduled refueling and maintenance outages. |
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| With major maintenance tasks underway, a staffed Operations team, and strong support from the plant community as well as our federal, state, and local partners, Palisades is well-positioned for a safe and successful return to service. “The destination is in sight. The strength is in our team,” said Palisades Site Vice President Mike Mlynarek. |
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