Michigan’s zombie nuke plant is getting a second act

Palisades Makes History Twice

A shuttered nuclear plant on the shores of Lake Michigan is about to make history, not once but twice.

Holtec International just filed paperwork with federal regulators to build two small modular reactors at the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station in Covert Township, Michigan.

If approved, they would be the first of their kind ever deployed in the United States.

The company is already bringing the original reactor back from the dead, and what happens next could reshape American energy for decades.

Holtec Files for Two Pioneer Reactors

Holtec submitted the first part of a construction permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on December 31, 2025.

The NRC announced the application was available for public review on January 13, 2026. The company is seeking approval for two SMR-300 reactors named Pioneer 1 and Pioneer 2.

The application covers initial construction activities like soil compaction, backfilling, and installing foundations. Holtec wants to begin preliminary construction by mid-2027 and finish both units in the early 2030s.

First SMRs Ever Built in America

The 300-megawatt reactors would be the first of their kind in the U.S. Together, they would add 680 megawatts of carbon-free electricity to the grid.

The SMR-300 is designed and manufactured at Holtec’s technology campus in Camden, New Jersey. Unlike traditional nuclear plants that need massive facilities, these compact reactors can be largely assembled in a factory and shipped to the site.

The extra power would be enough to supply 1.4 million homes when combined with the original Palisades reactor.

$400 Million From the Feds

The U.S. Department of Energy selected Holtec to receive $400 million in federal cost-shared funding to support the SMR project. The money will go toward licensing, pre-construction work, and supply chain development.

Holtec plans to use a one-stop-shop approach by handling everything from reactor design to construction to selling the electricity.

The company partnered with Hyundai Engineering and Construction for the building work. This is part of a broader federal push to get small modular reactors off the drawing board and onto the grid.

The Original Plant Is Already Coming Back

While the SMR project moves through approvals, the original Palisades reactor is on the verge of restarting.

Palisades became the first decommissioned U.S. nuclear plant to officially transition back to operations status on August 25, 2025.

Holtec is planning for a return to service in early 2026. The 800-megawatt reactor can power hundreds of thousands of homes.

When it fires up again, it will be the first nuclear plant in American history to restart after being shut down for decommissioning.

Palisades Ran for 50 Years

The Palisades plant started producing electricity on New Year’s Eve 1971. It sat on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, about two hours from Chicago.

The plant permanently ceased operations on May 20, 2022, after more than 50 years of commercial operation.

Entergy, the previous owner, closed it due to financial pressures from cheap natural gas and renewable energy.

In its final run, the plant set a world record by continuously generating electricity for 577 days since its last refueling.

Holtec Bought It to Demolish It

Holtec, whose main lines of business are decommissioning reactors and managing nuclear waste, bought the plant in June 2022.

The original plan was to tear it down.

But just weeks into the decommissioning process, the company made the surprise announcement that it intended to revive the plant instead.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer had pushed the Department of Energy to keep Palisades open, citing jobs and the need for reliable carbon-free power.

That letter-writing campaign turned into reality when federal funding came through.

Over $3 Billion Is Backing the Restart

The money behind the Palisades restart is staggering. The federal government offered up to $1.52 billion in loan guarantees to fund the restart.

The state of Michigan gave $150 million.

Wolverine Power Cooperative was awarded more than $650 million to purchase wholesale electricity from Palisades for its rural Michigan customers.

Hoosier Energy was awarded more than $675 million to buy power for customers in Illinois and Indiana.

In total, Holtec has secured more than $3.1 billion to advance the project.

The SMR-300 Runs Without Operators

The SMR-300 is designed to be walk-away safe, meaning it requires no operator actions during natural disasters or emergencies.

The reactor core sits deep underground, protected by a steel and concrete containment enclosure. Passive safety systems use gravity instead of pumps to cool the reactor if something goes wrong.

The plant has an 80-year service life, twice as long as traditional nuclear plants. A twin reactor plant needs only about 270 staff members.

Three Mile Island Is Coming Back Too

Palisades is not the only zombie reactor. Constellation Energy is restarting the Crane Clean Energy Center in Pennsylvania, formerly known as Three Mile Island Unit 1, with a $1 billion federal loan.

Microsoft signed a 20-year power purchase agreement to buy the electricity for its data centers. The plant is expected to start generating power again in 2027.

NextEra Energy is also exploring a restart of the Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Iowa through a deal with Google.

These are three shuttered nuclear plants aiming to generate power again this decade.

Environmental Groups Are Suing

Not everyone is celebrating. Environmental groups Beyond Nuclear, Don’t Waste Michigan, and Michigan Safe Energy Future filed a federal lawsuit in November challenging the Palisades restart.

They argue the Nuclear Regulatory Commission created improper regulatory pathways to allow the restart.

Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear called it a zombie reactor restart scheme that is unneeded, expensive, and risky for health, safety, and the environment.

Critics also worry about the condition of aging equipment, particularly the steam generators.

Michigan Bets Big on Nuclear Future

If everything goes according to plan, the Palisades site will eventually host three working reactors producing 1,400 megawatts of electricity.

The SMR project would create 300 additional full-time jobs and support more than 2,000 jobs during peak construction.

Governor Whitmer called the investment historic, saying it will double Palisades’ capacity and protect good-paying Michigan jobs.

The original plant is licensed to operate through at least 2031, and Holtec plans to apply for a 20-year extension.

What started as a decommissioning job has turned into a test case for whether America can build its nuclear future.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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