Holtec International has begun loading fuel into the reactor vessel at the Palisades nuclear plant in Covert, Michigan, a milestone in the closed facility's path back to service. The company said fuel loading started this week, with the reactor core made up of 204 fuel assemblies, including some partially used assemblies retained from the plant's final operating cycles before it shut down in 2022.
Palisades is a single unit, 805 megawatt pressurized water reactor that entered commercial operation in 1971. Previous owner Entergy retired the plant in May 2022 after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a 2021 license transfer to Holtec for decommissioning. Holtec later reversed course and pursued regulatory approval to restart the unit rather than dismantle it, a process that included tube reinforcement work inside the two steam generators, replacement of control rod drive mechanism nozzles, chemical decontamination of the primary system, and reactor vessel inspections.
Once fuel loading is complete, plant systems will move through testing, inspections and startup activities before the unit can return to producing power. Holtec has also notified the NRC of plans to seek a second license renewal that would extend Palisades' operating period by 20 years, to 2051, and the company is advancing separate plans to deploy two small modular reactor units, called Pioneer 1 and 2, at the same site.
If completed, the restart would mark the first time a retired US commercial nuclear plant has returned to operation, a milestone being watched closely as utilities and federal officials look for ways to add generating capacity to a grid facing rising demand from data centers and industrial customers.
Source: World Nuclear News - https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/fuel-loading-under-way-for-palisades-restart-holtec-announces