US energy secretary says Palisades nuclear plant will restart by the end of 2026 — The National
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that the reactor at the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan is expected to resume operations by the end of 2026. The reactor, owned by Holtec International, was shut down in 2022 and is now being prepared for a restart. The National reported this during the minister’s visit to the facility.
Restart plans
According to Wright, once it returns to service, Palisades will provide an additional 800 MW of reliable and secure electricity. The publication notes that the plant has become a symbolic project for US nuclear power, interest in which has grown in part because of significant electricity consumption by data centers.
Holtec International’s director of government affairs and communications, Patrick O’Brien, previously said that the company is taking steps to strengthen the safety culture at the facility. According to him, the reactor will return to operation only after the necessary work is completed and federal requirements and industry standards are met.
Safety concerns
Environmental activists oppose the plant’s return to operation. Kevin Kamps, executive director of Don’t Waste Michigan, called the reactor a “zombie reactor” and spoke of the risks that, in his view, its restart creates.
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In September, a fuel assembly tipped over during fuel reloading at the plant. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission said that this did not result in a radiation release. Workers later successfully retrieved the fuel assembly.
In 2012, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission report warned about a workplace culture at the plant in which, according to its findings, safety concerns were systematically dismissed. In 2016, when the plant was owned by Entergy, security staff were suspended from work for failing to follow fire safety procedures. In October 2025, a worker fell from a fuel handling bridge into a water pool but was not seriously injured.
This month, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission sent Holtec a letter following an inspection. The regulator found that Palisades generally maintains a safety-conscious work environment, but employees in the procurement and quality assurance departments hesitate to raise safety concerns through all available channels because they fear possible retaliation.
