DOE Loans $56.7M Toward Restarting Holtec’s Palisades Nuclear Plant
The project is subject to Nuclear Regulatory Commission approvals and is the first American reactor to restart after ceasing operations.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) granted a second loan disbursement to Holtec for the Palisades Nuclear Plant project: $56,787,300 of up to $1.52 billion was released to restart the commercial nuclear reactor. Once online, the Palisades reactor will generate 800 MW of low-cost, reliable baseload power for Michigan residents.
Holtec obtained its first disbursement from the Loan Programs Office (LPO) in September 2024. The company uses LPO funds to finance the plant’s restart and ensure compliance with Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) standards.
“Unleashing American energy dominance will require leveraging all energy sources that are affordable, reliable and secure - including nuclear energy,” said Chris Wright, Secretary of the DOE. “Today’s action is yet another step toward advancing President Trump’s commitment to increase domestic energy production, bolster our security and lower costs for the American people.”
Palisades Nuclear Plant; image credit: NRC
The Palisades project is expected to support or retain up to 600 high-quality jobs in Michigan, representing America’s first restart of a commercial nuclear reactor that previously ceased operations. The project is subject to NRC licensing approvals.
More DOE News
In early March, Chris Wright of the DOE approved Golden Pass LNG Terminal’s (Golden Pass) export permit extension, granting additional time to begin LNG exports from the terminal presently under construction in Sabine Pass, TX. Upon completion, Golden Pass may export up to 2.5 Bcf/d of LNG, significantly supporting the natural gas export market in the United States. QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil own Golden Pass LNG, with exporting activities scheduled to begin in late-2025. Once operational, it’s expected to become a top 10 LNG export terminal in the United States.
In late January 2025, the DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) awarded the final two clean hydrogen hubs: the Heartland Hydrogen Hub and Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub (MACH2). Both will begin Phase 1 activities, with Heartland receiving $20 million and MACH2 receiving $18.8 million of the $925 million and $750 million federal cost shares, respectively.
The Heartland Hydrogen Hub contains planned sites across Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin—a region recognized for agriculture, mineral mining, and energy production. Led by the University of North Dakota’s Energy & Environmental Research Center, the Hub will use new and pre-existing energy resources and infrastructure to produce commercial-scale quantities of clean hydrogen for low-carbon nitrogen fertilizer.
MACH2’s clean hydrogen will be used in industrial applications, such as power generation, replacement fuel for process heaters, and heavy-duty transportation. This includes multiple refueling stations to serve sanitation trash trucks, street sweepers, cargo handling equipment, and fuel cell-equipped electric buses. Phase 1 will also conduct initial planning, design, and community and labor engagement activities.
