NRC board to hear petitions on Palisades restart

The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board’s adjudicatory hearing will focus on “petitions concerning Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC; Holtec Palisades, LLC; license amendment requests and an exemption request related to a potential restart of Palisades Nuclear Plant,” according to an NRC notice posted on January 22.

Holtec is seeking permission to restart Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan, which shut down in May 2022. If successful, Palisades will be the first U.S. nuclear plant to achieve this restart milestone.

A closer look: The oral argument will allow board members to ask questions regarding challenges from two petitioning groups—a group of nine individuals and a group of five organizations. The board’s three administrative judges will hear from representatives for the petitioning groups, Holtec, and NRC staff.

The three administrative judges who comprise the board are from the NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board panel. However, the board is independent from the NRC and its rulings may be appealed to the commission.

Background: Holtec announced plans in 2024 to restart Palisades’ 777-MWe pressurized water reactor to help meet growing energy demand. The company hopes to secure a subsequent license renewal that would allow Palisades to operate until at least 2051.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded Holtec a $1.5 billion loan guarantee to help finance the plant’s restart, which could happen as soon as this fall.

During a January 14 meeting between Holtec and NRC board members there was a lengthy discussion about how the company wants to repair faults within the plant’s steam generator system. An NRC inspection last summer showed indications of stress cracking in 1,163 of the 16,000 steam generator tubes.

The NRC issued a preliminary notification report last September.

How to get involved: The proceedings will start at 8:30 a.m. (EST) at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Md. Members of the public can attend and observe. There will also be a listen-only phone line available at 301/576-2978 with a passcode of 101 394 753#.

Additional information about plans for Palisades is available on the NRC website under “Potential Restart.”