goingcritical:palisadesUnited States · Restart

Palisades

Developer: Holtec International (Palisades Energy LLC)

Site: Covert Township, Michigan

Status: Under construction — target criticality 2026 (confidence: low) target

Summary:

First-ever US restart of a reactor from decommissioning status (shut down May 2022); NRC returned the plant to an operating license in 2025

Holtec CEO says restart expected in 2026, ahead of a March 2027 power-supply contract; prior end-2025 and February 2026 targets were missed and no firm date is set. Fuel (68 assemblies) is on site but not yet loaded as of July 2026.

Details

DesignCombustion Engineering PWR
Capacity800 MWe

Milestone history

  1. Announced October 2023
  2. Construction start —
  3. Fuel load —
  4. First criticality target 2026
  5. Grid connection —
  6. Commercial operation —

References

  1. NS Energy — Holtec filed NRC restart application October 2023; DOE $1.52B loan
  2. WNN, Oct 2025 — Palisades receives 68 fuel assemblies after NRC returned plant to operating status (Aug 2025)
  3. ANS Nuclear Newswire, Jul 8 2026 — major restart projects complete, fuel ready for loading, no firm restart date; CEO expects restart in 2026
  4. Michigan Public, Dec 2025 — restart pushed to early 2026