NRC Preparing to Oversee First of a Kind Effort to Restart a Shuttered Plant
The Palisades Nuclear Plant (PNP) permanently ceased operations on May 20, 2022, after more than 40 years of commercial operation. In early 2023, Holtec, the licensee for PNP expressed an interest in returning the plant to an operational status.
To restart PNP, Holtec needs to (1) gain NRC approval to restore the licensing basis of the plant to an operational status; (2) return plant components to a status that supports safe operation; and (3) make any upgrades or repairs necessary to meet the proposed operational licensing basis.
NRC staff will carefully review the regulatory and licensing documents for the plant, inspect new and restored components necessary to operate safely, and continue ongoing oversight to ensure sufficiency of all plant systems and programs.
To provide oversight of this effort, the NRC has established the Palisades Nuclear Plant Restart Panel, which will guide the staff efforts to review, inspect, and confirm that PNP is ready to be returned to an operating facility. The Restart Panel will help coordinate licensing, inspection, and oversight activities across the agency to ensure that all aspects of the PNP restart project are meeting the NRC’s safety, security, and environmental requirements.
Licensing Actions Under Review
The licensee for the Palisades Nuclear Plant, Holtec Decommissioning International (HDI), is pursuing several licensing actions to restore the operational licensing basis for the plant.
| Regulatory Path to Reauthorize Power Operations |
| |
ADAMS Accession No. |
Document Date |
Other Information |
| Submittal |
ML23032A399 |
02/01/2023 |
|
| Updated Submittal |
ML23072A404 |
03/13/2023 |
|
| Kickoff Meeting |
ML23107A121 |
03/20/2023 |
|
| Follow-Up Meeting |
ML23171B122 |
05/24/2023 |
|
| |
| Request for Exemption from Certain Termination of License Requirements of 10 CFR 50.82 |
| |
ADAMS Accession No. |
Document Date |
Other Information |
| Pre-Submittal Meeting |
ML23263A001 |
08/29/2023 |
|
| Submittal |
ML23271A140 |
09/28/2023 |
|
| Acceptance Review |
ML23291A440 |
11/03/2023 |
|
| RAI Letter |
|
|
RAIs will be issued as needed for this action |
| RAI Response |
|
|
| Final Documentation |
|
|
|
| Estimated Completion |
Tuesday, December 31, 2024 |
Date as included in acceptance review |
| |
| Application for Order Consenting to Transfer of Control of License and Conforming License Amendments |
| |
ADAMS Accession No. |
Document Date |
Other Information |
| Pre-Submittal Meeting |
ML23303A213 |
10/03/2023 |
|
| Submittal |
ML23340A161 |
12/06/2023 |
|
| Acceptance Review |
ML24012A242 |
01/16/2024 |
|
| RAI Letter |
ML24295A362 |
10/21/2024 |
|
| RAI Response |
ML24324A207 |
11/19/2024 |
| Supplemental Information |
ML24324A200
ML24354A183 |
11/19/2024
12/19/2024 |
Supplements contain updated enclosures to the original license transfer application to reflect the latest information following the decision on the U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee process and additional financial information. |
| Supplement to the RAI Response |
ML24348A160 |
12/13/2024 |
Supplement provides an updated Power Operations Quality Assurance Program Manual that supersedes all previous versions |
| Final Documentation |
|
|
|
| Estimated Completion |
Tuesday, December 31, 2024 |
Date as included in acceptance review |
| |
| Request to Revise Operating License and Technical Specifications to Support Resumption of Power Operations |
| |
ADAMS Accession No. |
Document Date |
Other Information |
| Pre-Submittal Meeting |
ML24016A005 |
12/05/2023 |
|
| Submittal |
ML23348A148 |
12/14/2023 |
|
| Acceptance Review |
ML24022A117 |
01/23/2024 |
|
| Draft RAI Email |
ML24192A001 |
06/06/2024 |
A supplement to the original request was provided to address editorial changes identified by the NRC staff. The full technical review of this request is still underway, and additional RAIs will be issued as needed for this action. |
| Supplemental Response |
ML24191A422 |
07/09/2024 |
| RAI Letter |
ML24358A148 |
11/22/2024 |
|
| RAI Response |
ML24354A111 |
12/19/2024 |
|
| Final Documentation |
|
|
|
| Estimated Completion |
Friday, January 31, 2025 |
Date as included in acceptance review |
| |
| Request to Revise the Administrative Technical Specifications to Support Resumption of Power Operations |
| |
ADAMS Accession No. |
Document Date |
Other Information |
| Pre-Submittal Meeting |
ML24051A094 |
02/06/2024 |
|
| Submittal |
ML24040A089 |
02/09/2024 |
|
| Acceptance Review |
ML24060A221 |
03/18/2024 |
|
| Draft RAI Email |
ML24192A147 |
06/28/2024 |
A supplement to the original request will be provided to address editorial changes identified by the NRC staff. The full technical review of this request is still underway, and additional RAIs will be issued as needed for this action. |
| Supplemental Response |
ML24213A082 |
07/31/2024 |
| Final Documentation |
|
|
|
| Estimated Completion |
Friday, March 14, 2025 |
Date as included in acceptance review |
| |
| Request to Reinstate the Palisades Emergency Plan to Support Resumption of Power Operations |
| |
ADAMS Accession No. |
Document Date |
Other Information |
| Pre-Submittal Meeting |
ML24089A246 |
03/18/2024 |
|
| Submittal |
ML24122C666 |
05/01/2024 |
|
| Acceptance Review |
ML24141A119 |
05/23/2024 |
|
| RAI Letter |
ML24192A167
ML25043A108
ML25121A127
|
06/28/2024
02/11/2025
05/01/2025 |
An initial RAI was provided to address longer lead time items needing response.
Additional RAIs were issued based on the result of the full technical review. |
| RAI Response |
ML24206A187
ML25070A029 |
07/24/2024
03/10/2025 |
| Final Documentation |
|
|
|
| Estimated Completion |
Friday, May 30, 2025 |
Date as included in acceptance review |
| |
| Request to Update the Palisades Quality Assurance Plan to Support Resumption of Power Operations |
| |
ADAMS Accession No. |
Document Date |
Other Information |
| Pre-Submittal Meeting |
ML24166A291 |
04/29/2024 |
|
| Submittal |
ML24144A106 |
05/23/2024 |
The operating quality assurance plan was submitted as a supplement to the license transfer application and will be incorporated into the schedule for that review. |
| Final Documentation |
|
|
|
| Estimated Completion |
Tuesday, December 31, 2024 |
Date as included in acceptance review |
| |
| Request to Update the Main Steam Line Break Analysis Methodology for Palisades |
| |
ADAMS Accession No. |
Document Date |
Other Information |
| Pre-Submittal Meeting |
ML24212A061 |
05/15/2024 |
|
| Submittal |
ML24145A145 |
05/24/2024 |
|
| Acceptance Review |
ML24169A434 |
06/18/2024 |
|
| Technical Meeting |
ML24303A116 |
10/02/2024 |
|
| RAI Letter |
|
|
RAIs will be issued as needed for this action |
| RAI Response |
|
|
| Final Documentation |
|
|
|
| Estimated Completion |
Monday, June 30, 2025 |
Date as included in acceptance review |
| |
| License Amendment Request to Include Leak Before Break Methodology for Primary Coolant System Hot and Cold Leg Piping in Palisades Licensing Basis |
| |
ADAMS Accession No. |
Document Date |
Other Information |
| Pre-Submittal Meeting |
ML25069A469 |
01/14/2025 |
|
| Submittal |
ML25035A216 |
02/05/2025 |
|
| Supplemental Submittal |
ML25058A265 |
02/27/2025 |
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| Acceptance Review |
ML25069A544 |
03/14/2025 |
|
| RAI Letter |
ML25128A171 |
05/07/2025 |
RAIs will be issued as needed for this action |
| RAI Response |
ML25149A013 |
05/29/2025 |
| Final Documentation |
|
|
|
| Estimated Completion |
Friday, August 15, 2025 |
Date as included in acceptance review |
| |
| License Amendment Request Regarding Steam Generator Repair By Sleeving for Palisades Nuclear Plant |
| |
ADAMS Accession No. |
Document Date |
Other Information |
| Pre-Submittal Meeting |
ML25069A469 |
01/14/2025 |
|
| Submittal |
ML25043A348 |
02/11/2025 |
|
| Acceptance Review |
ML25076A177 |
03/20/2025 |
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| Audit Plan |
ML25070A153 |
03/20/2025 |
|
| RAI Letter |
|
|
RAIs will be issued as needed for this action |
| RAI Response |
|
|
| Final Documentation |
|
|
|
| Estimated Completion |
Tuesday, September 30, 2025 |
Date as included in acceptance review |
The NRC recently issued a letter to Holtec informing the licensee of the new estimated NRC staff hours and completion dates necessary for the various licensing actions outlined above due to the additional effort and time required by the NRC staff to complete its review of the environmental impacts from the proposed licensing actions related to reauthorization of power operations at Palisades. The NRC staff now expects to issue its final decisions on the licensing actions by July 31, 2025. The schedule change letter is available for public review at ADAMS Accession No. ML24219A420.
Inspection Activities
Numerous NRC inspections and other oversight activities are planned to assess Holtec’s readiness to restart the Palisades plant. In support of this effort the NRC established Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 2562, “Light-Water Reactor Inspection Program for Restart of Reactor Facilities Following Permanent Cessation of Power Operations.” The purpose of IMC 2562 is to:
- Establish oversight policies, requirements, and guidance for transitioning from a decommissioning reactor facility to an operational power reactor facility subject to the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP).
- Detail the requirements for the inspection activities and operational plant readiness to provide reasonable assurance for safe operations following reactivation of an operating license.
- Ensure other federal agencies, state and local governments, tribal governments, the public, and other applicable stakeholders are engaged and informed.
The NRC has assembled a site-specific inspection plan related to the oversight activities necessary to assess the effectiveness of Holtec’s actions related to the potential restart of Palisades in accordance with the NRC’s health, safety, and environmental standards. The series of inspections will provide input for developing an objective and documented basis for any NRC decision to transition Palisades back to the operating reactor inspection program and resume commercial power operations. The inspection plan is available for public review at ADAMS Accession No. ML24228A195.
Publicly available inspection reports from the activities completed to date related to the efforts to resume power operations at Palisades are listed below:
March 20, 2024 – Palisades Plant Reference Simulator Inspection Report
July 15, 2024 – Palisades Nuclear Plant – Restart Inspection Report 05000255/2024011
September 18, 2024 – Preliminary Notification of Palisades Steam Generator Inspection Results
October 1, 2024 – Summary of Conference Call Regarding Steam Generator Tube Inspections
November 12, 2024 – Palisades Nuclear Plant – Restart Inspection Report 05000255/2024012
November 13, 2024 – NRC Audit of Subsurface Investigation Activities at the Palisades Energy Center Project Site
January 24, 2025 – Palisades Nuclear Plant -- Restart Inspection Report 05000255/2024013
March 11, 2025 – Potential Restart Activity Inspection Plan for Palisades Nuclear Plant
March 26, 2025 – Palisades Nuclear Plant -- Restart Inspection Report 05000255/2025001
May 21, 2025 – Palisades Nuclear Plant -- Restart Inspection Report 05000255/2025002
Previous NRC inspection reports from the operational period for Palisades, covering the year 2000 through the shutdown date of May 20, 2022, have been made available for reference on the NRC’s Inspection Reports For Operating Power Reactors public page in the Palisades section. Note that these inspection reports do not cover the decommissioning activities completed to date at the site.
To sign up to receive NRC correspondence related to Palisades decommissioning, potential restart, and inspection activities join the Palisades listserv distribution by filling out the Operating Reactor Correspondence form with your email information.
Public Meetings
The NRC has engaged in several pre-submittal interactions with the Palisades staff on various topics related to the potential for restart, and will continue to host public meetings related to the potential for Palisades to resume power operations throughout the project.
On Wednesday, April 17, 2024, the Palisades Restart Panel hosted a public meeting in the vicinity of the Palisades site to discuss the NRC’s efforts related to regulation and oversight of the potential restart activities. The summary of that meeting is publicly available in ADAMS at ML24141A063.
On Thursday, August 1, 2024, an additional meeting was held between members of the NRC and Holtec Decommissioning International staff to discuss the status and progress of the potential restart project. The summary of that meeting is publicly available in ADAMS at ML24257A058.
On Thursday, October 3, 2024, members of the HDI and NRC staff presented to the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards to discuss various aspects of the project related to potential reauthorization of power operations at Palisades. The transcript and presentations from that meeting are publicly available in ADAMS at ML24319A182.
On Thursday, October 24, 2024, a public meeting took place between the NRC staff and HDI to discuss the licensee’s plans to resume work at Palisades on NRC Generic Letter (GL) 2004-02 (ML042360586), "Potential Impact of Debris Blockage on Emergency Recirculation during Design Basis Accidents [DBAs] at Pressurized-water Reactors [PWRs]," which is associated with Generic Safety Issue (GSI)-191, “Assessment of Debris Accumulation on Pressurized Water Reactor Sump Performance.” Additional goals for the meeting were for Holtec to provide a summary of the Palisades GL 2004-02/GSI-191 activities completed prior to cessation of power operations and give an update on the closure plan if power operations are reauthorized. The summary of that meeting is publicly available in ADAMS at ML24311A165. In addition, on December 11, 2024, the licensee provided a Milestone Schedule for Generic Letter 2004-02 Remaining Actions.
On Wednesday, November 20, 2024, an additional meeting was held in the vicinity of the Palisades site to discuss the NRC's efforts related to inspection and oversight of the potential restart activities. The summary of that meeting is publicly available in ADAMS at ML24358A243.
On Wednesday, April 23, 2025, an additional meeting was held in the vicinity of the Palisades site to discuss the NRC's efforts related to inspection and oversight of the potential restart activities. The summary of that meeting will be made publicly available in ADAMS as soon as it is complete.
On Tuesday, April 29, 2025, members of the HDI and NRC met to discuss the Palisades Open Phase Closure Plan, which would support potential restart of the plant by allowing HDI to close out the actions associated with NRC Bulletin 2012-02, "Design Vulnerability in Electric Power System," which is also called Open Phase Detection.” The summary of that meeting will be made publicly available in ADAMS as soon as it is complete.
Continue to check the NRC Public Meeting Page for information on any additional meetings on the Palisades Restart Project and associated actions.
Additional Activities
- On April 9, 2024, HDI provided notice of a significant change to the Palisades decommissioning schedule outlined in the Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR). This change will defer removal of spent nuclear fuel and special nuclear material from the spent fuel pool to the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI). This change is being made to support the Palisades restart project but does not impact the current status of Palisades as a decommissioning facility.
- On April 18, 2024, HDI provided notice to the NRC of its intent to pursue subsequent license renewal as governed by 10 CFR 54, “Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants.” According to the notice, HDI plans to submit an application for a second renewed operating license for Palisades during the first quarter of 2026 and no later than March 24, 2026. The first license renewal period for Palisades expires on March 24, 2031. Additional information regarding the NRC’s subsequent license renewal process can be found on the NRC’s public website under the Reactor License Renewal heading.
- On August 15, 2024, HDI provided notice regarding the transition of the payroll for site employees from HDI to its affiliate Palisades Energy, LLC. This transition was made effective August 14, 2024, to support the need to track PNP personnel costs separately from other employees to comply with the U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee program requirements that govern the PNP restart project.
- On October 9, 2024, HDI requested recission of two previous exemptions related to the amount of onsite and offsite insurance coverage for PNP. The approved exemptions reduced the amount of coverage required for the facility considering its decommissioning status; therefore, rescinding the exemptions will increase the coverage levels to their previously required amounts.
- On December 4, 2024, HDI requested recission of three previous exemptions related to (1) allowing either a certified fuel handler or a licensed senior operator to approve the temporary suspension of security measures for Palisades during certain emergency conditions or during severe weather; (2) recordkeeping requirements during decommissioning; and (3) withdrawals from the Palisades nuclear decommissioning trust fund for spent fuel management and site restoration activities without prior notice to the NRC in the same manner that withdrawals are made for decommissioning activities. Rescinding the exemptions will reinstate the requirements in place during operation of Palisades.
- Holtec International has stated its intention to request NRC approval to build small modular reactors (SMRs) at Palisades. The NRC is engaged in preapplication activities with SMR, LLC (A Holtec International Company) to construct and operate a dual unit facility of the SMR-300 design at the Palisades site. Details on the SMR-300 design, status of preapplication activities, and planned engagements may be found on the NRC’s SMR-300 Pre‑Application Activities public webpage. Information on the SMR (Holtec) initial design, the SMR-160, may be found on the SMR (Holtec) Designs public webpage.
- On March 3, 2025, HDI provided the 50-Year Containment Tendon Surveillance Inspection Summary Report for Palisades. According to the report, based on an evaluation of the 50-year tendon surveillance results, and after reviewing the acceptable disposition of non-conforming items, HDI concluded that the containment structure has not experienced abnormal degradation related to the post-tensioning system and continues to be operable. This report was supplemented on April 15, 2025.
- Holtec International has stated its intention to request NRC approval to build small modular reactors (SMRs) at Palisades. The NRC is engaged in preapplication activities with SMR, LLC (A Holtec International Company) to construct and operate a dual unit facility of the SMR-300 design at the Palisades site. Details on the SMR-300 design, status of preapplication activities, and planned engagements may be found on the NRC’s SMR-300 Pre‑Application Activities public webpage. Information on the SMR (Holtec) initial design, the SMR-160, may be found on the SMR (Holtec) Designs public webpage.
Other Documents of Interest
Palisades Transition Quality Assurance Program (TQAP)
The TQAP that will govern the quality-related activities associated with the potential restart of Palisades during the transitional period between decommissioning and resumption of power operations is available at ADAMS Accession No. ML24215A356 (see Enclosure 3).
Annual Environmental Monitoring Reports Since Shutdown
Annual Decommissioning Funding Status Reports Since Shutdown
- March 28, 2022 - Decommissioning Funding Status Report Covering Calendar Year 2021
- March 31, 2023 - Decommissioning Funding Status Report Covering Calendar Year 2022
- March 29, 2024 - Decommissioning Funding Status Report Covering Calendar Year 2023
- March 31, 2025 - Decommissioning Funding Status Report Covering Calendar Year 2024
Previous Environmental Impact Statements
For additional questions please use the NRC’s newly established email address for topics specifically concerning the potential restart of Palisades, which is PalisadesRestartProject@nrc.gov. Correspondence sent to this address will be routed to the appropriate NRC program office as needed, including the Office of Public Affairs.